Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE
by Dragon's Return
Summary: Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE is the worlds fasting growing Massivly Multiplayer Online RPG. Atleast, thats what a group of players thought... until serious events began to take place, causing the players to ask themselves, Is this really just a game?
1. LOGIN 0

Disclaimer: I do not own SSBM, or anything else related. I do own some of the ideas of the online game, I suppose. But all and all, it's taken from other great MMO's I've played.

A/N: This is a Super Smash Brother's fic with a slightly different way of looking at it. The smashers are inside of a game and are played by real humans. It's just an MMORPG (Or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) instead of the fighting game. I suppose my love of .hack lead me to create a story like this, so if you see any parallels, it's just a loving homage to the series. Wanted to put something new out there since we seem to be filled with the same old stuff every day haha. In this story, I'm not gonna try to explain what the offline players look like. You can use your imagination to make em what you want :D

This is only the prolouge. I'm currently on Chapter Six of whats promising to be a very, very long story (I, at first, only wanted this story to be 7 chapters. But chapter 4, Marth the story should have been half way over. In reality... I haven't even adressed the main problem at ALL).

**Quick note, I mention this alot: Any time a character refers to a 'Circle with an L-Shaped Cross' or something along those lines, it's referring to Master and Crazy Hand's symbol. You know the one, the thing thats on the face of the Wireframes and whatnot? Yea. This is important, I'll mention it in Chapter One but thats it :P**

But I just had to get an idea of how the fans are going to recieve this story. So here the Prolouge :D

I'm not sure how long it will be until I update the story itself. But I've decicded to go in parts. And I'm nearing the end of Part One, so I'm sure it'll be up soon.

Once it updates the first chapter, I will update atleast once a week.

NOTE: There are Orignal Characters in this story. But they only exsist in the real world, or outside of the game. So if you dislike OC's and you are turned off by the fact that the prolouge involes the Real Life characters, please just wait till chapter one. :P

Also, If you want... There are times when the characteres need to surf the web forums. If you want, YOU TOO could make a cameo in this story (OMG!) by letting me put your requested 'Screen Name' on the 'Forums'. Haha only if you want too, since I ran out of good screen names to put :P

BTW:

Offline - First Person (We're in the mind of the player. Rarely seen, and most of the time only a brief input from Marth's player.)  
Online - Third Person (We're pretty much following the adventure of the Smashers online. Nearly all of the story is Online.)

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #0: Happy Birthday!**

Super Smash Brothers Online. I heard rumors about how great the game was at school... but I never wanted to play. I've heard the stories on the news about people losing their lives over these kind of games. Y'know, never leaving the house, eyes stuck to the PC... freaky stuff. And besides, online games... not really my thing. "Please!!" My friend, Shannon, would beg daily. "It's such a great game! My character is sooo cute! He's a Pokemon Swordsman named Zi-"

"Ugh, Shannon, I've told you, that game sounds boring..." What the hell is a 'Pokemon' anyway.

Her pouting was quite annoying. You'd think she'd realize it doesn't effect me anymore. "Hmph..." She huffed, crossing her arms. "You're lucky it's your birthday or I wouldn't have stopped."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, so lucky." Honestly... up until Shannon showed up today, I had forgotten it was my birthday. No one really celebrated it... not even me.

"Don't take that tone with me!" She paused, her face quickly changing as if she remembered something. "Oh yeah! Happy Birthday!" Quickly, she forced a package into my arms and smiled. "Open, open!" She said with a smile.

With a sigh, I began to tear away the colorful wrapping. After a few seconds of tearing, the gift's true identity made itself known. "You're such an idiot..." I muttered, tossing the copy of Super Smash Brothers Online onto my bed.

She smiled broadly. "You're welcome!" She said, fixing her falling glasses.

"Shannon!" I hear my mom's voice from downstairs call. "You're mom is on the phone! She says you need to get home for dinner!"

Shannon glanced over at my computer's clock. "Ack, it's seven already? I've gotta head home and help Moma finish cooking dinner." She dashed around the room gathering her belongings, her long and curly brown hair seemed to fly everywhere as she ran... what a mess she was making. Sometimes I wonder why she doesn't just leave her things in one place... I watched her put back on her shoes and turn to the open door. "Make sure to play." She said, looking back at me with a smile. "It's free, y'know. See ya! And Happy Birthday!"

"Bye." I said, waving to my friend as she left. With a slam of the door, I was left alone in my room. So much for a happy birthday, I thought to myself. It was just as any other day was... boring. Same shit, special day, I suppose. Sometimes I wished I had something more actiony to do... to keep me busy.

_"Y'know, SSBO is full of action." Shannon's earlier words echoed in my mind. "You can fight monsters, earn gold... it's lots of fun. Plus you'll be playing it with other players from around the country and even the world! Its a good way of interacting with humans for a socialphobe like you."_

Sighing, I turned back to my computer and loaded up the Internet. Just as the page loaded, I brought my right hand to my forehead and let out an even larger sigh. "GEEZ!" I screamed, reading the current 'Top Headline' in the world. It read: Super Smash Brothers: Online reaches 12 Million Users in just one year and still growing! I don't know why, but I clicked the link and began to read. It spoke of how Super Smash Brothers: Online was the fastest growing MMORPG, whatever that means, since some game called Warlocks of Worldcrack. Or something along those lines.

"What the hell is so cool about this game?" I asked no one, picking up the large box I had tossed onto my bed. I couldn't understand... the box had nothing special on it... it was a plain black box with the words: Super Smash Brothers: Online written in large red letters. Behind the box was some weird insignia which looked like a circle with an L-Shape Cross in it. The back yield just as little information, simply stating it was the: 'Fasting growing MMORPG in the world, and is the second part to a game called 'SS AOTH', another popular MMO which was released over 2 years ago.

"SS AOTH... sounds familiar..." I spoke, turning to the PC. I remembered hearing about that on the news... ah well, whatever, not important. But still... "I can't escape it can I?" I said, laughing to myself. I glanced over the box once again. "...Free, right?... What the hell..." I opened the box and put the CD into the drive.

I watched as the loading screen popped up. 110290 files remaining. Great. While watching the game's percents slowly creep by, I glanced into the box and saw two extra things. A small controller and a wireless head set. Along with these was some instructions. I minimized the loading screen and began to work on the extra add-ons. "Okay... so I have to plug in the controller... here." I said, plugging the controller into a slot in my PC. After recovering from the electric shock, I read on about the head set. "Place on right or left ear and leave mouth piece near mouth..." I installed the headset and smiled at my work. "Hey, this might be kinda fun!" I said, checking back at the loading screen.

120390 files remaining.

...Did it just go up?...

After what felt like days of loading, the software finally finished installing and the screen went black. "Oh..." Glancing at my PC, I began to wonder if my computer could handle the graphics. But just as quickly as my screen went black did the title screen of the game pop up. It read -

**SUPER SMASH BROTHERS: ONLINE**

Account Name:  
Password:

During the years of installing, I did manage to create an account name and password. I wrote down my name and password into my journal. Dragon's Return... hey, I like dragons. I quickly typed in my name and password, which brought me to a new screen:

**SUPER SMASH BROTHERS: ONLINE**

New Character  
Load Character  
Forums  
Official Site  
Updates

All but the load character channel was clickable. Since I had been to both the official site and forums to make my account name, and I was not yet interested in the updates of a game I haven't played yet, I quickly went to the "New Character" button and waited.

A few seconds passed and it brought me to another new screen, reading "Select Race" at the top. I was currently highlighted of the race, "HUMAN", but saw there were four other races to choose. "Okay, lets see... humans..."

Well, according the game, Humans were the most populous and plentiful of all the game's races. They were innovative and hard working, building two of the five great empires in the game. But they were also subjected to the moral sins of lust, greed and others, making it hard to find a completely moral human.

Needless to say, this was just back story and I wasn't too interested in that. According to the stats, however, it stated that humans were 'Jack of All Trades, Masters of None.'... which meant they could perform all of the jobs successfully. However, they will always be second best to any other race. In my life, I had always enjoyed being challenged... and after reading that, I was nearly sold on choosing a human. To strive in the game to become the best, even if it seems out of reach... yeah, that's my kind of game.

But I still had to check out the other races, just to make sure I wanted human. They went as followed:

Hylian: Beautiful and intelligent, they excelled at swordsmanship. I wasn't too fond of their armor or their ears...  
Pokemon: Magical monsters who are second only to humans in population, the excelled at magic. I'm not a spell caster type of person.  
Beasts: Animal-like creatures who hail from the jungle. Apparently they're good at being rangers, which made no sense.  
Gerudos: An all female race that hails from a part of desert in Hyrule... best at being a fighter, it seems. I don't really know... I was too distracted by the nose on the chosen avatar to represent the race.

All in all, I was sold from moment one on humans. Next screen, easy one... select gender. Male. Clicking next brought me to a screen reading, "Select Class". There were four classes I could pick from:

Swordsman: Warriors who use swords. Best 'tanks' in the game.  
Mage: Magical users who can control all of the elements of nature.  
Ranger: Using a quiver and bow, you can knock targets off at a distant.  
Fighter: No weapons required, just you're own bare fists.

According to the page, each class gets at least two advance classes, when you can choose to specialize in a different area of you're chosen profession. It also said something about a subclass and advance classes... I really didn't care, I chose Swordsman.

"Select Allegiance?" I muttered, reading the top of the screen. The next page asked me to choose a 'home town' for were my character can hail from. Apparently, when you reach that server, you can get special armor and items from that town. I read over the five servers and quickly made my choice.

Mushroom Kingdom: A 'melting pot' of all the races, who are all in the minority when compared to the Toad race.  
Hyrule: A beautiful and magical area where the Hylian's rule.  
Kanto: A busy and bustling city where the Pokemon reside... which also made no sense.  
Kongo Jungle: An Island off the cost of the main land where the Beasts are said to crawl out from.  
Pherae: The "new" kingdom of humans, built in the shadows of a nameless castle and the ruins of the Old Kingdom.

I clicked Pherae and checked the level needed to enter the server. "Five? All right." I quickly clicked next and it brought me to the final screen. "Select appearance." I echoed, looking at the computer. It took a few seconds to sink in, but when it did, it hit like a ton of bricks. There were a lot of fucking buttons.

"Eye color, hair color, face tone, height weight, eye position... What the..." I was in shock when I saw you could even choose at the rate you wanted your character to blink. "Hell no! I don't have the time to do all this." But then I noticed in the corner of the screen a button reading: Random. The description said it would randomly choose a character's avatar for you.

I'm not too sure what happened after that... but my screen began to flash red, green and black. An eerie sound came onto the speakers, which sounded like static. At the same time, I could have sworn I heard someone talking... all of this was kinda freaky... but I thought it was part of the game. That was, until I noticed it was slowing down my other programs on the computer and causing the screen to flash weird error messages. Then, my screen went black...

But from there it gets weirder still. Just as it couldn't get worse... my lights began flickering. Scared, I jumped from my chair just as my lights began to flicker on and off. I could smell the slight sent of smoke rising from my PC and I could have sworn my desk began to shake. "Aaaah!" I screamed, backing away from the computer. "Wha- What the hell is going on!?" Is this normal when a computer doesn't have the power needed to play a game?!

The static grew louder and louder, as did the mysterious deep voice, until it gave one last burst, filling the entire room with ear-piercing noise. Screaming, I fell onto the floor just as my light bulbs burst, bring my room into complete darkness. I sat on the floor, afraid to move from my spot. I was breathing heavily, like I had just run a mile for track at school. "Wow... that was intense..." I muttered through pants.

Just as I began to regain my composure, my computer screen flickered back on. Shocked, I looked over at the screen, which was still on the character appearance selection screen. "What the..." My character had visibly changed from a near naked man to a slender man in light blue armor, with dark blue hair and a tiara place gently upon it. He wore a blue cape, and held a long sword at his side. Beneath him, in the box labeled: TYPE NAME it read, MARTH.

CONTINUE...?


	2. LOGIN 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers: Melee or any of the other characters that may appear from different games. :D

A/N: Welcome to the first chapter! Let me explain how this story will work if I didn't explain it well enough (or at all, too lazy to look lol).

This story is going to work in parts. That is, I'm going to complete all the chapters to those certian 'parts' before I start sumbiting. If you want to think of as... like sagas or arcs, thats a good idea. Part One, or the Mushroom Kingdom Arc (I guess) has 11 Chapters (as of right now). Over the course of the next few weeks I will be updating them :) Once I finish updating the group, I will begining working on the next part. Well, I would already be working on it, I mean. So you may to expect a bit of a delay between chapter 11 (currently) and chapter 12 :P

There is also gonna be a section for background music :o since I can't really... explain background music too well in the story (though I will try) I'll just put here what I picture when I hear it :P

And yes, you can be used in both online and offline. If you want a character, just give a brief discription of what you'd want em to be and you'll see him or her atleast once. But no telling when it may happen XD. And you'd most likely been seen only once, due to the fact I wanna keep most of the characters in the story from Video Games.

**Backround Music:**  
The Mushroom Kingdom's Theme: If you've ever played Super Mario 64, its like the theme of the castle when you walk in. If you don't know what that music is, picture anything :P  
Goomba Plains: Erm... I dont have any for this field so whatever you want :P haha.  
Battle Music: I had my own music I made for this battle in my head. If you want too, though... the second best may be the typical Pokemon battle music. Poke Float's theme, i believe.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #1: Welcome, Newbie. **

Marth opened his eyes for the first time in the Mushroom Kingdom. "Woah..." Marth spoke, as the screen finally finished loaded. "This is... amazing!"

Character: Marth  
Race: Human  
Level: 1  
Class: Swordsman  
HP: 90  
MP: 20

-Mushroom Kingdom-

Marth's character had been loaded right into the middle of Mushroom Square, the main town in the Mushroom Kingdom server. In front of the swordsman was a large fountain, shaped like a mushroom, spouting water from it's tip and landing perfectly within the ring of water behind it. Moving his avatar, Marth could see all of the other attracting that awaited him. The area was a circle, with shops in the shape of mushrooms laying on the edge of the ring. Each shop was labeled differently... the red shop was the armor shop, the blue shop was the item shop, the green shop was the weapons shop. He look upwards to see a surprisingly bright sun shinning down onto the city, piercing through the clouds... with smiles on them. But the most beautiful sight to be seen was a large white castle in the distance.

---

I heard a slight tune being played in the background. It was calm and quiet, but it was quickly drowned out by a flood of random voices entering my ear piece. "Yak!" I yell, nearly throwing the headset to the floor. "Damn, that's annoying!"

"Excuse me?!" I looked onto the screen to see what I believed to be a Hylian woman in a yellow dress, golden hair and tons of jewelry. "How dare you, you stupid newbie!" She yelled before stomping off in the direction of a round, white portal.

"Erm, sorry?" I muttered, not sure if she heard. When she didn't turn back around I assumed she didn't and just went on to pick up my controller. "Okay... how to-"

"MOVE YOU STUPID NEWBIE!" I heard another person call out. I looked up onto the screen to see a group of four players run up to me. I still wasn't sure on how to move, so I just gulped and hoped for the best...

Thankfully, you can (apparently) run through each other's avatars. Sighing, I glanced down at my controller. "Okay... time to learn how to move."

---

Marth stood there for a good few moments, just staring into space. "Ummm..." Marth muttered. "Erm... I wonder if people will laugh at me if I tell them I don't know how to move."

"Press up on your control pad." Came a voice from behind. "Newbies... heh, what would we do without them."

The blue haired swordsman let out a sigh and tried doing just that. He moved forward one step. "Hey, I did it!" He spoke, causing the group who had raced past him a few minutes ago to burst out laughing.

---

A blush crossed my face. "Geez... who would have thought I'd be this embarrassed..." I mutter, looking away from the screen for a second.

---

Across town, the sound of laugher reached the headset of another player. He was a small human boy, who wore a blue and yellow striped shirt. On his head rested a red cap and his shorts were of a blue style. "Eh? Looks like someone is having a good time." He spoke with a laugh.

Next to the boy sat a Hylian dressed in a green tunic. On his back he carried a sword and shield, giving away his class to any avatar passing by. "Hmm?" He grunted. The boy pointed over in the direction of the noise. "I wonder what's going on over there?" Said the Hylian, standing up.

"Who know's." The boy said with a shrug. "But if we don't leave now, we're gonna be late. We'll pass it on the way. Let's go, go, go!"

The Hylian began to walk towards the white portal. "All right..." He spoke softly.

The duo walked over by the group and saw a group of high leveled characters, all pointing and laughing at what, judging by their taunts, was a new player. "Oh, it's a newbie." Said the boy with a grin. "Look! He can't even move. Haha!"

The Hylian let out a slight giggle, but it was quickly silenced when the crowd began to part. "That avatar..." He whispered, walking towards Marth. By the time he reached Marth, the taunting players had warped out. He could tell that Marth was embarrassed by the low grunts he could hear from the character. "You. Hey you."

"Huh? Me?" Marth asked.

"You're new to this game, aren't you?"

"Uh huh." Spoke Marth.

The Hylian smiled. "Heh, I figured. Well, Marth, do you want to learn how to play the game?"

"Huh?!" The boy at his side said, jumping back in shock. "Hey, hey! Link! We don't have time for this. She's waiting, isn't she? If we don't leave now, we'll be late!" He began to wave his arms franticly, trying to regain the attention of his friend.

"Shut up." The Hylian, Link, as the boy called him, said quickly, pushing the little human's avatar onto the ground. "Can you move? Just press the keys on your controller..."

"Yeah I can move." Marth said, taking a few steps forward and backward.

Link nodded. "Okay, good. Now, I'm going to send you a party invite, so that we can talk privately without anyone hearing. You accept by clicking yes to the popup that'll show, got it?"

"Erm..." Marth replied. "Uh, sure..."

Just as Marth had finished, a popup appeared on Marth's screen:

**LINK Has invited you to join his party!  
Yes/No**

A few moments passed as Marth tried to figure out how to click on the yes button. After he clicked yes, a new small list appeared at the right corner of his screen. It read Party Members, and listed two other people besides Marth himself:

Character: Link  
Race: Hylian  
Level: 35  
Class: Swordsman/Ranger  
HP: 250  
MP: 70

Character: Ness  
Race: Human  
Level: 10  
Class: Psychic/Healer  
HP: 100  
MP: 150

"Okay good." Marth heard Link's voice over everyone else's in the area. "Press F4 to switch to party chat mode. In this mode, you hear our voices over the voices of anyone who isn't in our party."

Marth weakly replied, "Sure, give me a sec... there, like that?"

Link nodded. "Yes, very good!" He said with a smile.

"Whatever." Spoke Ness, crossing his arms and looking away. "We really don't have time for this, Link..."

"Yes, we do. I contacted her a few seconds ago." Link smiled again facing the boy. "She'll wait for us. Trust me on this one, Ness." Ness gave a few grunts of disapproval, but slowly nodded afterwards. Link turned back to Marth. "All right then. Let's give you a basic run down on how to play."

---

I listened in closer to what Link had to say, taking in ever bit of the lesson. "Okay, so I target something by pressing the L button..." I pressed it and it went to the closer character, Link. "And if that something is a monster, I can attack by pressing the A button?"

Link nodded. "Yup."

"Uh-huh..." I nodded, though Marth did not. "Gotcha. And I open my item list with start?"

"Yes."

"Kay, kay... I got it now... I think."

"Doubt it." Came a snide remark from Ness. But the boy was quickly silenced by a whack to the head from Link.

"Uh... can I ask a few questions?" Link nodded with a smile and I smiled back. "Okay, first off, how did you know my name before? I didn't tell you."

Link laughed. "Well, you can either use the L button to trigger the closest target, or just roll your mouse over the person for their stats and name." I did just that, rolling my mouse over the Hylian which brought up his name, level, class, HP and MP.

"Ah, I did it."

Ness rolled his eyes. "Someone wants a cookie." He muttered, walking off towards the white portal. "I'll wait over by the portal till you're done teaching him."

**NESS has left the party!**

"I don't like him..." Were the first words out of my mouth once he had left the party. I kinda forgot that anything I said could be heard by Link.

Link let out a loud laugh, which was followed by a few moments of silence. After about 20 seconds, he continued, "Yeah, yeah... You get used to him after a while. What were your other questions?"

Before Link could answer, a popup, well, popped-up.

**NESS wishes to join your party!  
Yes/No**

"Say no, please." I whispered, to which Link gave another laugh. Ness's name and stats appeared below mine, showing that he had joined the party. "So why did you come back? Miss me?"

"Hardly." I heard Ness mutter as he neared us. "You're lucky I owe Link too much..." He gave a smile and pointing to himself profoundly. "And I am the only healer in the game who can keep up with him, so he'll need me to keep you guys alive."

I was puzzled. "Alive? Huh?"

Link turned and looked at me. "We're heading to an area to fight. Ready?"

"Ummm..."

"Don't worry." Link pointed to that brat next to him. "He may not take it seriously, but Ness is a great healer. He won't let you die. And on the area we're heading too, there is no need to worry about death."

"O...kay." I said, still slightly unsure of what was going to happen. Link dashed off towards the white portal and just as he reached it, my screen went black. The words, "Your party leader is selecting an area" scrolled across the screen. After a few moments of waiting, the screen began to load up and I found myself in a new area.

---

The area was a beautiful green plain, trees and bushes dotted the landscape and birds flew through the smiling clouded sky. Off in the far distances, a tower could be seen, reaching high up into the sky. Across the field, other parties could be heard slashing and hacking away at unseen foes. "Goomba Plains?" Marth asked as he read aloud the title scrolling across the screen. "It's a... level five area!? Ah! I'm not level five!"

Link turned and laughed. "Don't worry, I told you, we won't let you die. Don't worry. This'll be a good way to level up."

Looking around, Marth noticed that Link's sword and shield were now in his hands, and Ness's perviously unseen weapon, a staff which looked very much like a baseball bat, could now be seen tightly clutched in his hand. Marth glanced to his side and saw that he too had draw his weapon, a long sword called by his item list; "Falchion". "Hey, wait!" Marth called out, causing the two to stop in their tracks.

"What? You forget how to move again?" Ness asked with a sigh.

"No... But um... How do you, like, do what you did back there?" Marth asked, running towards the two.

Link tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? Did what?"

"That! You just titled your head. How, how do you do that?"

Ness let out a laugh, his avatar falling and rolling on the ground. "Wow, you've never played an online game before, have you?"

Before Marth could try to tear Ness's head off, Link spoke up and explained, "Well, there are these things called emotes. Short for emotions. You use them by putting in certain commands and your avatar does them. Like..." Link smiled. "That is /smile. And..." Link began to break dance, but quickly stopped at the whistles and hoots from Ness. "That's /dance. There is pretty much an emote for everything you can think of in this game. Just type it in and you should be able to do it. You can also do this..." Link walked forward and flicked Marth on the forehead. "Thats /flick, but I also had you targeted. If you target someone and use a certain emote, it's done to them. Got it?"

"Yup!" Marth replied cheerfully. He then turned towards Ness and targeted the boy. "Let's see if this works..." Marth lifted his right hand, made a fist and... did a not-so-nice gesture towards the boy, causing Link this time to fall on the ground laughing.

"HEY!!!" He screamed, lifting his bat staff. "I don't care if this isn't a PVP field, I'll still kill you!"

Marth gave a weak laugh. "I didn't think they'd have that emote in here."

**LINK: Don't worry. That was the first one I gave to him too :P**

"Huh?" Marth looked over to Link, who was getting up off the floor.

"Thats called a whisper. You hit F5, type in a characters name or click on a character and type a message. Only they can read it." He said, trying to contain his laugher.

Ness looked shocked. "Wah?! Wha-What the hell did you just whisper to him?!"

Link giggled. "Nothing. Let's go level up!"

The trio had only begun running into the field when suddenly the peaceful music changed to that of a battle. Just as the new music began, the earth began to glow golden and three white orbs floated up from the ground and began to take shape. "What's going on?!" Marth exclaimed, readying his sword.

"This is a battle." Link explained, bring his shield and sword into position. "See those white orbs? They're gonna become monsters in a few seconds... so get ready! Ness, I want you too-"

"Yeah, yeah I know." Ness muttered, taking a few steps back.

Marth looked around confused at Ness and then back to Link. "He's going to focus on healing. Marth! Get ready, here they come!"

The orbs took the shape of three brown goombas. Marth targeted the closest one and read what it said aloud. "Goomba, level five!"

"No shit..." Ness muttered, rolling his eyes.

Link pointed to the Goomba Marth had singled out. "Attack Marth! Target, then use the A button to attack!"

Marth charged forward at the first Goomba and swung his sword at the small creature. A red "10 DAM" appeared above his head. "Did I do it?" Marth asked.

"Watch out!"

The first Goomba jumped forward and headbutted Marth, dealing 30 damage. The second one hit and dealt 20. The third Goomba was just about to attack Marth when a bolt of energy struck it, causing the monster to catch flame. "PK FIRE!" Marth heard Ness call out from the distance. Rapidly, the words 10 DAM appeared over the Goomba's head, till it exploded in a pop of colors.

"Ness, heal Marth!" Link called out, raising his shield to block an attack by one of the Goombas.

"Shuddup." Ness muttered. "Life Up Alpha!" He called out, causing a pale green aura to surround Marth. As it did, Marth's HP quickly rose back up to 90 and he was able to charge into the fight again.

"Take this!" Marth yelled as he rapidly swung his sword at the Goomba. 10 DAM, 9 DAM, 10 DAM, 8 DAM, 7 DAM... The Goomba's HP was slowly, but surely going down. But for ever attack Marth landed, the two Goombas double teamed him. Although Ness healed him quickly after, Marth's HP was constantly dropping into the red.

Link decided to even the playing field. "YAAAA!" Link cried out, spinning in a circle quickly. The second Goomba who had been trying in vain to hit him before quickly exploded in a flash of colors. This left on the one Goomba that Marth had attacked the beginning. "You can do it Marth!" Link cheered on, watching Marth do battle with the Goomba.

Without it's friends, the lone Goomba fell quickly. Marth struck it with two more hits, bringing the green bar above it's head into the red. "Almost there..." He muttered, swinging his sword down one last time. As he did, the words. MAJOR HIT! 20 DAM floated above the Goomba's head. This last strike was all it took to send the Goomba packing, and it quickly exploded into a rainbow of colors. The battle music again changed to a high-energy victory tune, as the words 300 EXP flashed over Marth's head. Just as it did, a flourish was heard in the background as Marth's level raised to level two. "Yeah! We did it!" Marth cheered, throwing his fist into the air. "Level Two!"

"Good job Marth!" Link said, patting Marth on the back. "Way to go!"

"Yeah, real amazing." Ness muttered. "One level."

Marth, at that remark, had just about had it. "Dude, what's your problem?" He asked, turning to face Ness. "What did I do to piss you off? Is it cause I'm new or something? You're only like, what, Level Ten? C'mon man, stop, please."

Ness was about to open his mouth when he was shut up by a glare from Link. "Hmph." Ness crossed his arms. "Are we moving on?"

"Why you..." Marth was about to tackle the boy when he was pulled back by Link.

"Hey, just let it go you two, all right? Ness is only in a bad mood cause we're supposed to be somewhere else right now."

The three stood there for a bit, not saying anything until Link finally began to move on. The others followed in silence, waiting for the next battle to take place. The rest of the trip was... rather quiet. Link and Marth made a few exchanges here and there, but mostly the loudest the group got was in battles.

What seemed to the group as a few minutes was really that of an hour or so. By this time, they had reached the doors of the castle, which hid the final boss of the field. By the time they had reached the last part of the field, Marth had gained two more levels, bringing him to level four, and Ness had even gained one level, bringing him to level eleven. Along their way, they had a few battles stolen from them by other players. But thankfully, no other players had reached the boss prior, so they didn't have to wait for a spawn.

The three stood outside the large pair of doors. Link and Marth readied their swords as Ness prepared to heal. "Okay Marth, this is the boss battle." Link explained. "Boss battles are just like normal battles... just tougher."

Marth nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Ness, you..."

"I know, I know." Ness replied quickly, taking a few steps back.

Link nodded and began to head towards the door. "This Boss is called the Goomba Prince. It's a level ten monster, so... let me head in first and take the arggo, and you guys follow, okay?" The two other players nodded and Link kicked down the stone door.

The screen changed to a cutscene, showing Link leading the other two into the castle. Once Ness entered, the doors slammed shut and the room fell into complete darkness. A second later, all of the candles in the room lit up, revealing a large Goomba sitting on a throne with a crown, mustache red and white pants, and eyes that looked every which way except forward. "WHO DARES ENTER MY THRONE?!" Spoke the Goomba. He then noticed the party of three standing before him. "AHA I SEE! YOU'VE COME FOR MY GOLD AND COOKIES! YOU SHALL PERISH!" There was a flash of light and two more Goomba's appeared, one red and one blue, who began to cackle as the cutscene ended.

"Shit..." Link muttered the second the screen returned to normal. "Just our luck we get the RM this time."

"RM?" Marth asked. He rolled his mouse over the king and nearly screamed out into the headset. "Goomba King? LEVEL TWENTY!?"

Ness took a step back and gripped his bat staff tighter. "Liiiink... this isn't good. I'm only level eleven."

Link began to sweat, but quickly shook it off and lifted his sword. "OKAY! Ness, stay behind and heal me. Marth, stay out of this fight." He gritted his teeth. "You're too weak to handle this." With that, the Hylian charged into battle, quickly striking the charging blue Goomba. The words: DAM 40 appeared of the Goomba's head. The two Goomba's then head butted him from both sides, making Link take 20 Damage each.

"FOOL!" The Goomba King yelled out. "YOU CAN NOT GET MY GOODIES!" The giant Goomba jumped from his chair and landed flat on Link, crushing him and making the entire screen shake.

"Woah!" Marth called out, his character being knocked down by the shock wave.

Ness ran forward. "Oh no!"

Marth looked up at his party menu and saw that Link's HP had gone from green to orange, meaning he was nearing death. After the Goomba King removed himself from Link's body, the words 100 DAM was seen floating above his head. "You okay?!" Marth called out, standing up.

"Life Up Beta!" Ness called out, causing a dark blue aura to surround Link. Just as Link's HP returned, Ness's MP dropped sharply, clueing to Marth that the spell cost alot more then the simple spell used on him before. "PSI Shield Beta!" Ness's MP dropped even father down as a light blue circle to appear around Link. "That'll protect you for a bit." He called out.

Link nodded and pick up his sword. "Thanks Ness!" He called out before striking the blue Goomba once again. 42 DAM appeared above it's name and it exploded. The Red Goomba let out a cry of anguish, then bit Link right on the arm. "Damn." Link muttered, pushing the Goomba off. He had only taken 10 Damage, but Link's green health bar had turned a light red.

"What's wrong with Link?" Marth asked Ness, trying to get up off the floor.

Ness grimaced. "He's bleeding... it means he's losing health slowly over time. And I haven't been able to unlock my condition removal skills yet so... there isn't anythin- Life Up Alpha!" Link had taken another large amount of damage from the giant King Goomba stepping on him, but it had be reduced due to Ness's shield "...that I can do about it."

"YAAA!" Marth turned to see Link perform the same spin attack he used in their first battle against the Red Goomba, causing the words MAJOR HIT! 60 DAM to appear above the Goomba's head. "Ness! Do you have any MP to spare?" He called out.

"Barely." The boy replied, charging to the front lines.

Link nodded. "Use freeze. He's a fire based Goomba."

"PK FREEZE ALPHA!" Ness called out, causing an block of ice to surround the Goomba. It froze the goomba in it's place, then disappeared, making the words MAJOR HIT! 80 DAM appear above it's head. Without a second to spare, the goomba exploded into nothing, leaving only the King remaining. "Ha... but Link, I need to recover my MP... Freeze finished it off." Ness said, running back to the background.

"You don't have any MP Shrooms?"

"I used my last one right before entering the boss battle."

"Darn... alright." Link gripped his sword and readied his shield, just as the King Goomba jumped into the air. He rolled out of the way as he landed, causing the castle to shake once more.

Marth watched on in amazement. "This is... so cool!" He said, watching as a child would watch a baseball game for the first time. Marth couldn't take his eyes of the Hylian, who was dashing about, running up and slicing the boss, then jumping back just in time to avoid the next attack. "He's really good!" He then looked over at Ness, who was sitting on the floor, his legs crossed and eyes closed. "What are you doing!?" Marth yelled, shocked at the boy's sudden time out.

"Recovering my MP." Ness replied with his eyes shut. "It recovers over time slowly, but if I rest, I can get it back fast."

"AH!"

Marth turned to see Link flying through the air and slamming into the wall of the castle, taking a large amount of damage and lowering his HP bar into the red. And he was still bleeding, so his HP was even decreasing as he called out, "Oh no, Link!"

The Hylian was panting heavily when he stood up, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red tomato looking object. It disappeared in a flash of white and Link's HP quickly rose back into the green, stopping the bleeding. "Alright!" Link smirked, charging at the King again.

He slashed at the giant's feet, causing different amounts of damage; 20 DAM, 14 DAM, 15 DAM, 19 DAM, 14 DAM... Not as high as it was when he fought the other goomba's but still stronger then Marth could do. As Marth watched the battle, he couldn't help but begin to cheer for the swordsman. "C'mon Link! Get him!"

"WHO DARES!?" The King Goomba called out, turning towards Marth. Marth's face went pale as the giant goomba began to charge over towards him. "GET OUT OF MY CASTLE!"

"MARTH! DODGE! RUN AWAY!" Link screamed, taking out a bow and arrow. He pulled back the string and sent an arrow flying towards the King in an attempt to gain it's attention, but to no avail.

Instead of running, the foolish Marth lifted his sword and charged. "I'm not gonna let you kill me!" He called out, swinging his blade across the King Goomba's chest. DAM 0 floated above his head, causing Marth's avatar to suddenly get a giant sweatdrop appear behind it's head. "Uh-oh..." Was the last word uttered by Marth before he was smashing into nothing by the Goomba.

--

The screen went all black, expect for the red words flashing across the monitor, You are dead. You are dead. You are dead. Please wait for party member to revive you. Below that was the choice to return to town and lose any progress I've made while in the field.

I sigh, sitting back in my computer chair, listening to the sad, depressing music that played lightly in the background. "Damn this sucks..." I mutter. The sad music was underscored by the sounds of Ness and Link calling out various attacks against the Goomba. I could hear them, but couldn't see them. Will they revive me? I bet Link might but... I don't know about that Ness brat.

"Link... Ness... can either of you hear me?" I spoke into the headset. Nothing. Guess not...

A few minutes had passed. It was getting annoying hearing seeing the words you are dead over and over... I guess this is one reason why dying isn't all that fun.

Suddenly, my screen lit back up and colors filled my monitor once more. "Took 'em long enough..."

--

Marth opened his eyes to find himself still within the castle. He was laying on the castle floor, with Ness at his side, staring down at him with an angry look on his face. "You're an idiot, you know that, right?" He said.

"Shut up." Marth muttered, standing up. He looked over to see the Goomba King still fighting with Link, but instead of the large green HP bar, it was down to near empty. "Ha! Link's winning!"

The Hylian was getting ready for the final strike. "Take this!" Link cried. He charged at the Goomba, thrusting his sword deep into his body. MAJOR HIT! 30 DAM appeared above his head just as the screen went to that of a cutscene.

"NOOOO!" The King cried out. "THIS CAN NOT BEEEEEE!" He stumbled back a few inches, then let out a loud scream before exploding into a bright white light. Sparkles and orbs of light began to fall onto the trio, who's avatars began to dance in victory as the cutscene neared it's end. As it ended, Marth heard the flourish again, showing that he had leveled up to Level 5.

"Good Job Link!" Marth said, patting Link on the back.

Link let out a sigh. "That was pretty tough considering I was alone." He said, smiling at his deed.

"Look!" Ness said, pointing towards the throne. One of the light orbs was beginning to transform and take the form of a large object. "It's our victory prize."

The white light flash and ontop of the throne rested an unopened treasure chest. The following words scrolled across the screen:

**MVP: LINK**

"What's that mean?" Marth asked, referring to the scrolling text.

"The MVP is the person who gave either the most damage to the boss, or the one who gave the finish blow to him." Ness explained. "It means Link can open the treasure box and has the highest chance at getting a rare item."

Marth nodded as Link walked towards the treasure chest. The Hylian kicked it open, and it glowed a bright yellow. The words scrolled onto Marth's PC:

**You've found 40 Gold and a Maximum Tomato!**

"Ugh, just a MP Shroom..." Ness muttered with his prize. "What ya get Link?"

Link didn't answer right away. "The King's Crown, a gold item." He spoke, a slight glee in his voice.

Ness's mouth dropped. "REALLY?! COOL!" He began to laugh. "That's worth at least 10K Gold, ya know, if you sell it to a newbie." He then turned to Marth and gave him an odd look. "I'd say scam him, but it doesn't look like he has any gold at all on him."

Marth crossed his arms. "I really don't like you."

"Ness..."

"Hm?" The boy turned to Link and stared. "Oh! Yey! An outpost!"

Marth looked over in Link's direction. "Huh?" A white portal, much like the one in town, was seen floating in front of them. "Does that lead back to town?"

Link shook his head. "No, it leads to a victory town. Or, as some players call them, 'Outposts'. They're towns you can only get too when you beat a boss. There are atleast two different victory towns in each server, most have three." He pointed to the portal. "I think this one leads to... Goomba Village, I believe."

"What's the point of those?" Marth asked, confused.

"Well, it's pretty and you can relax there... plus the items are cheaper to buy."

The swordsman smiled. "All right! Let's go." He quickly dashed forward and disappeared into white portal, leaving behind Ness and Link.

"Ness..."

"Hm?"

Link looked up at the ceiling of the castle. "Can you do me a favor? Stay with Marth for a bit... give him your GID and teach him how to play a bit more."

"Why?!" He nearly screamed. "Can't you tell we don't like each other?"

Link nodded. "Yeah but... I really need to go meet with her right now. It's important." Before Ness could answer, Link pulled out a green orb, which then transformed into a warp pipe. He disappeared down the tube, and it vanished afterwards, leaving an annoyed Ness.

-Goomba Village-

Marth was busy running about the town, admiring the scenery and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere when Ness warped in and walked up to him. "Where's Link?" Marth asked as the boy neared him.

"He had to log off..." Ness explained. He stopped a few feet away from Marth and put his hands on his hips, staring at the swordsman disapprovingly. But before Marth could ask what was going on, the words scrolled across his screen:

**NESS has given you his Gamer ID!  
Give yours?**

"What-"

"My Gamer ID." Ness began to explain. "Hit F10." Marth did so and a screen appeared on his monitor reading 'Gamer List'. The top and only name on the list read:  
Ness - Online.  
Level 11 Psychic/Healer

"By hitting F10, it'll bring up your Gamer List. Each player gets a Game ID, or GID as we call it, when you log on for the first time. This GID is you're character's name and your forum e-mail address. You can choose who you send your GID too by clicking the 'Send Gamer ID' when clicking on a character." Ness paused, catching his breath. "With a GID, you can see which of your friends is online, and who you can send whispers too. You can also invite them to your party like this, even if they aren't in front of you. Got it?"

Marth nodded weakly. "I... think so."

Ness shrugged. "Well, if you don't, oh well. When do you log on most of the time?"

"Today was my first time on..."

"So around the same time?" Ness asked. "I'll have a friend waiting to meet you, okay? She'll teach you the ropes better then I can. Listen, I've gotta go for the night. I've got school in the morning. Don't you have work or school tomorrow?"

"College..." Marth replied dully.

"Well... go to bed." Ness said before quickly disappearing from sight.

--

**NESS has left the party!**

When those words scrolled across the screen, I was once again alone. I glanced over at the clock. "Holy... it's already two in the morning?!" I yell, nearly falling from my seat. I quickly hit the LOG OFF button, and my screen went from the cheerful image of Goomba Village to the main screen, asking me to choose to log in or not.

All and all... I was surprised. Shannon was right. This game was pretty fun. Link was pretty cool... but that Ness brat, ugh. I wonder why he gave me his Gamer ID and Link didn't though? Maybe he forgot. Regardless, I didn't have time to think of what happened. I stood out of my computer chair and crawled into bed, falling asleep to have dreams of the very game I had so shunned until today.

--

-Hyrule Castle-

Link stood outside the doors of a massive castle, located in the middle of a field of grass and flowers. "Well, it took long enough, but I'm here." He muttered, pushing open the doors and entered a long hallway. The castle was huge and empty, with large stone pillars holding the massive roof up. On each side of a pillar was a light, ever burning within the game. It had a single red carpet which lead up to an empty throne and a large, stain glass window, which the sun blazed brightly through, painting beautiful images of color across the floor.

The Hylian began to walk down the long hallway, the only sound filling his player's headset was the of his footsteps. As Link came closer to the throne, He saw three figures. Two beasts, one looked like a rabbit with a long white and richly covered cloak. A healer. The other looked that of a frog with tightly fit leather. A ranger. "So, is that really the waiting lady?" One spoke, the frog.

The rabbit nodded. "Yeah. They say her player leaves her standing here in the reflection of the stain glass window twenty four-seven. People say she's waiting for someone, but who knows."

The frog laughed. "She's a freak, that's what she is." He poked the third figure with a giggle.

Link rolled his eyes and approached the two. He ran his mouse over the duo and called them out by their names. "You two... Peppy, Slippy!" The two beasts turned. "What are you guys doing here?"

The rabbit, Peppy, shrugged. "Who knows. Just wanted to see the lady. You must be here for the same reason, you know there are no monsters in this field."

Link crossed his arms. "I'm here cause of the rumors of a treasure chest randomly appearing in the field outside the castle. I came here to wait for a friend. Only one spawns a day, so we're in a rush."

The two beasts glanced at each other. "Erm, gotta run!" Slippy said as the two dashed out from the castle.

Once they were out of earshot, Link sighed. "Idiots... oh well." He turned to the person standing in front of him. "The tale of the godless twelve ended." He spoke.

A minute or so passed until a beautiful voice responded, "And the tale of the twenty-seven begins." The figure turned around to reveal a Hylian woman, dressed in a beautiful pink dress. Her hair was golden blonde and her eyes shown a bright green. "You're late, Link."

"Sorry bout that Zel. Teaching a newbie." Link said with a laugh.

The Hylian woman smiled gently at the young man and sat down. "Just like you, Link. Always helping the new players."

Character: Zelda  
Race: Hylian  
Level: 35  
Class: Arcane/Healer  
HP: 180  
MP: 300

Link sat down next to the Hylian. "You're getting to be pretty famous, huh, 'Waiting Lady'." He said with a wink and a laugh.

Zelda shrugged. "I suppose."

"Why you leave your character here instead of leveling up, I do not know."

She giggled. "We each play the game differently. This is my way of playing. Just as yours is to help newbies."

Link's joking face turned into a more serious one. "But Zel... I don't think this was just any ol' new player." Zelda looked at him questionably and he continued, "I think he was... part of the 'Event'."

Zelda looked shocked. "Really? Are you sure?" She asked, standing up. The hylian walked over towards the glass window and staring into the colors. "...Which one was he?"

"The swordsman of blue." Link answered. "His avatar... it was just too perfectly matched to be a normal players."

"Was his name-"

"Marth." Link interrupted.

Zelda paused for a bit, reorganizing her thoughts. "I see." She spoke after a few moments. "So you think he's one of us?" Link nodded, although Zelda couldn't see. "...Bring him to me. I want to meet him."

"Of course." Link replied, standing up himself. "But he's only level five... it'll take some time."

Zelda shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Take as much time as you need. Just bring him to me."

"Will do!" Link said with a salute. "Maybe SSBM will get another guild member? Haha! Nah I think Ness and him would kill each other before that happened."

The arcane rolled her eyes. "Who wouldn't want to kill that boy from time to time. Regardless... SSBM dismissed." With that, Link logged off from the game, leaving Zelda alone in the castle, staring up at the glass window. "It is just as I thought..." She whispered to no one. "The hands are on the move. Another avatar has been created..." Glancing up into the window, she sighed. "It's happening all over again... it seems the destruction of Super Smash Brothers Online is about to begin..."

CONTINUE...?


	3. LOGIN 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anythiing related to SSBM or any other characters or games mentioned.

A/N: I'm glad to see you all like it :D! Yes, I can use both your name and if you'd like, a character. But most characters won't be there for more then a few moments, because I don't really wanna get the story too long and make it seem like I'm not focusing on the main characters. I'm right now in need of a person who is willing to appear at the very end of chapter 11 as a hacker ;D First one to suggested it and give some info on the character might just get it haha! Anyway, enjoy chapter two:D!

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #2: Oopsy Daisy **

---

"So did you play SSBO?" I heard Shannon's voice pierce through my dream.

"Mmmm..." I grumbled, snuggling my head deeper into my arms. I've never stayed up so late on a day when I had to be in class by seven in the morning and stay on campus all day... not a fun thing to do.

She giggled and turned back to the teacher. "I don't know why I thought you did. For some reason, you're just acting like I did the first time I played. I stayed up all night and was very sleepy the next morning. What time did you go to bed?"

It took me a few minutes to answer. "Like... two... I think."

I glanced out from under my arms to see Shannon tensing up. Looking to the other side of me, I saw my professor staring me down. "Well, well, well... This is a sight to be seen." He spoke, tapping his foot. "I've always thought you to be a morning person."

"I was... until today." I replied dryly. I wasn't in the mood from my teacher's wise cracks right now, so I just put my head back down in my arms and closed my eyes.

He sighed and began to walk away. "Well, all right, I tried. Atleast I know you're not such a bad student..." He muttered, returning to the front of the class.

After he returned to the board, my mind slid back into the world of dreams. The next sound I remember hearing was a mass of voices and chairs moving, waking me up just as the class was starting to get out. "I really think you should play." Shannon said to me as we walk home from class. She lived a few blocks away from me, so if our schedules permit, we sometimes walked home together.

"Super Smash Brothers?" I ask, slightly out of it. Too busy thinking about how sleepy I am, I suppose...

She nodded. "Yeah."

I wonder if I should tell her? Ugh, but then... all she'd want to do is play with me online. I just want to play Super Smash Brothers as a hobby, not as an addiction. "Nah, not my style of a game, you know that." I replied.

"Yeah, just shooters and sports games for you right?" She said with a laugh. ...I never touched a shooter in my life... but sports game were kind of fun. "Anyway, I'm going out with Mike and Jan today. Wanna come?"

"Nah... I've got a paper due for writing class in a few days. I wanna finish it today."

Shannon shrugged. "All right then. I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved to me and began to head down the street to her house, leaving me to walk home alone.

Once I get into my house, I dash up the stairs and flick on the computer switch. I had to type some paper... a critical analysis or something of a book we read. The Scarlet something... the only I thing I can remember from that book was that she had a red A above her bosom... since the word, 'bosom' made the guy next to me giggle. Regardless, after I bullshitted through the paper, I decided it was too late to head out with Shannon and others, so I double clicked the Super Smash Brothers Icon and went online.

I typed in my account name and password and was about to click the load character button when I saw a flashing 'New Mail!' next to the 'Forums' button. "Eh? Mail?" I clicked on the forums button and it brought me to the website's official message board. The board itself was sorted into five groups:

Official Game Discussion - Where you talk about the game. Like where to find certain things and whatnot.  
Rumors - All online games have rumors of mysterious rare weapons and glitches, and this is where to find the latest ones.  
Trading Center - A place where players can post items they've found and try to sell them over the forums, and check prices.  
Art Center - Where people go to post fanfictions and fanart of the game.  
Events - A message board where only moderators made posts about upcoming events in the game.

I didn't have time to check any of the new posts as a pop-up showed up reading, 'New Mail!' "I wonder who it's from?" I asked myself, clicking on the 'read' button. It brought me to a new screen, where two messages waited.

**UNREAD**: Welcome to Super Smash Brothers Online! - SSB:O Staff  
**UNREAD**: hey - The Earth Bounded Warrior04

Clicking the first message made the following pop-up.

_Thank you for signing up with Super Smash Brothers: Online! We hope that you enjoy your time playing the game legitimately and we welcome you to the Super Smash Brothers: Online community. Check out the official site and forums for updates and events on the game, and expect fun times in the future! _

_-SSB:O Staff _

_If you are not sure why you have received this message, please contact us at http://supersmashbrothers .com/helpandsupport_

Just a welcome message I guess..." I muttered, clicking the delete button. I clicked on the next message and read it quickly.

_Hey there newbie.. It's Ness. Link yelled at me for not staying to teach you how to play. Oh well. I asked my friend to meet you today and teach you anything you need to learn. Her name is Daisy. She'll be waiting in the Mushroom Kingdom, in the field to the east. Peace. _

I deleted the message and closed down the forums. "So that little brat did something nice for a change? I might have to consider thanking him."

Selecting load character, I picked my single avatar, Marth, and log into the game

---

--Mushroom Kingdom--

Marth appeared in a flash of light in the middle of the busy server town. He was once again facing the mushroom shaped fountain, but this time from the east side. "All right, so Ness said she should be waiting in the field?" He said to himself, looking around. "So which way is that?" Confused, the swordsman began to wander around the town, looking for any signs leading towards this field.

"Hey, you." Marth turned to see a Gerudo woman approaching him. Her armor was open, seemingly to give her lots of room for moving, leaving Marth to assume she was a fighter.

"Are you Daisy?" Marth asked, confused.

She shook her head. "No. I just wanted to know what weapon is that. Did some higher level give it to you? It's not something a newbie would have. Can I see?" Before Marth could answer, a screen popped up reading:

>ABBY THE SAVOIR wishes to trade with you!  
>Yes/No

Ignoring the fact that savior was spelled wrong, Marth clicked yes and it brought up another screen. On one side it showed Marth's item list and five empty boxes. On the other side it showed another five empty boxes. "Okay, do you know how to trade?" Abby asked. Marth shook his head and Abby sighed. "Click on your weapon and drag it to one of the boxes."

Marth glanced through his small list until he found his weapon. He clicked it with his mouse and dragged it into one of his open boxes. "Like that?"

"Yup." Abby replied. "Hmm... Falchion... I've never heard of that sword." The other empty boxes quickly turned from black to white. "Okay, now click the button that says 'Accept'."

"Uh, you sure?"

"Yes! Just do it!"

Marth was about to click accept when a friendly and familiar voice filled his ear piece. "Hey there Marth!" He turned to see the tunic wearing Hylian, Link, approaching them with a bright smile on his face. "Whats up?" Link glanced over at the Gerudo. "Who's she?"

"None of your beeswax, pansy." Spoke the woman, crossing her arms. "Okay, just click accept and I'll be on my way."

"Okay, sure."

"Hang on a moment!" Link said quickly, stepping the way of the two. "Marth... what are you doing?"

"But out!" Screamed Abby, trying to push the Hylian away.

Marth was confused. "Uh, I was just showing her my weapon in the trade menu thing. I was about to click accept and let her look at it."

"Were you now?" Link asked, raising his eyebrow. Marth nodded and the swordsman sighed. "Marth, click cancel." Before Marth could protest, Link quickly jumped in, "Just do it."

"Don't!" Objected Abby, stepping closer to Marth. "I wanna see it."

"Erm... sorry." Marth said, closing the trade menu.

Once he had done that, Link turned to Abby and gave her a glare. "Shame on you, trying to scam a new player out of his weapon!" He pushed Abby back.

"Scam?" Marth asked, confused once more.

"If you had clicked accept, you would have traded your weapon to her." Explain Link. Marth let out a weak 'Ooh' as Link continued to glare in Abby's direction. "It's people like you who are going to drive new players from the game before they even start it."

Abby laughed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Please! You're thinking of the PKers. I just wanted to see that item, thats all." She raised an eyebrow. "And what are you going to do about it, anyway?"

"Report you for trying to exploit a new player." The shocked look on Abby's face amused the Hylian. "What, you didn't know you could get banned for that?" He said with a laugh.

"Aah!" She yelled, taking a few steps back. "Erm, no, I was, uh, I just wanted to see that weapon. I've never seen it before. Uh, I gotta go! Bye!" Abby turned and dashed out of the town and into the white portal, hopefully never to be seen again.

Link smirked as the scammer disappeared. Turning to Marth he said, "You know, you really can't get reported for that! She must have been kinda new herself. Hehe." Link flashed a big grin.

"You sure are a happy person, huh?" Marth said, giving a grin of his own.

"Nah, I just role-play one." He explained, laughing slightly.

Marth didn't quite know what role-playing meant, but decided to ask him later. "So, um, whats up?" He asked Link.

The Hylian shrugged. "Not much. I just came on to go level up a bit earlier today. No work today, haha! Oh, and to give you my GID, of course." The same pop-up from last night asking if Marth wanted Link's Gamer ID showed and Marth quickly accepted. "Okay, cool. I'm going to log off a bit now. I need to get dinner ready. I'll see you on later, though."

"Okay bye." Marth waved to his friend as he disappeared. Just as Link vanished, he slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah! I should have asked him where this damn field is!" Grumbling, he looked around the town. "Maybe someone will be nice and help me." Marth only took a few steps until he was confronted by an odd looking player. He was small and had a mushroom for a head. "Um, excuse me, could you tell me where the field thing is?" Marth asked, bending down to look into the beady eyes of the little man.

"What fine weather we're having, don't you agree?" He spoke with a smile.

"Uh..." Marth looked up at the sky. It was the same bright blue as yesterday, with the same smiling clouds and the same birds flapping back and forth. "Yeah... I guess... But that didn't answer my question."

"I bought a new item at that shop over there. I think he ripped me off!" Said the man this time.

Marth looked puzzled. "Well, are you new? You can try and threaten him by saying it's against the rules to steal from newbies."

"What fine weather we're having, don't you agree?" He repeated.

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Gosh darn it! I think I broke my toe..." Said the little creature as it began to wander away.

The swordsman stood up in a panic. "Wa-Wait! You didn't answer my question!" He was about to go chasing after the man when he hear muffled laughs from behind.

"That's an NPC, dude." Came one random voice.

"NPC?" Marth asked.

"Non-Player Character." Came another voice. "It means it's a computer character. It only says certain, programed things."

---

I felt my face become warm once more. "Oh..." I muttered, lowering my head in shame. It went even lower once I heard the other voices asking,

"Isn't he the same newbie from yesterday who couldn't move?"

"Yeah thats an odd avatar. Never seen one like it, hard to miss."

"Maybe he's a hacker?!"

"A newbie hacker."

The laughs and taunts of the other players were... very annoying. "I don't even know why I let them get to me." I spoke, covering the mouth piece of my headset. Oh well... might as well ask them... "Do you know where the field is?" I ask to a passing blue turtle like pokemon named Squirty.

The pokemon nodded. "Over there." He said, pointing to the east.

"Thank you!" I say quickly, getting up and dashing towards the field. I really need to read the guide book before playing next time...

---

Marth dashed out of the main city and into a large, open field of grass and flowers. The meadow was surrounded by a mountain range on all sides expect west, which lead back to the city. Along the side of the mountain were trees and rocks, which some players were sitting under or ontop of. Some NPCs, those little mushroom men, wandered the field, but other then that, the players remained still. The only building on the grass plain was a small tent with the word 'QUEST' written above it. It was much quieter compared to the city, very peaceful. "I guess players come here to relax." Marth muttered, walking out onto the field.

As he explored the field, he came to a rock where a lady sat with her back turned to him. "You Marth?" He heard the woman ask.

"Uh, yeah..." Marth said with a nod. "Are you... Daisy?"

The lady stood up off the rock and turned to face the swordsman. She wore a yellow dress with her green jewel in the center of her chest. Her brown hair appeared only a few shades darker then her tanned skin. She smiled and nodded. "Yup."

Character: Daisy  
Race: Human  
Level: 42  
Class: Healer/Arcane  
HP: 330  
MP: 450

Marth smiled. "Okay, nice to meet you!"

Daisy nodded again and looked over Marth. "Ness was right. You are pretty weak looking. And you're only level five? I see... well, we have a lot of work to do. C'mon."

>DAISY invites you to join her party!  
>Yes/No

Marth clicked yes and joined Daisy's party. "All right. Now lets head out." She said, walking towards the town. "Got any ideas of which area to go too?" Daisy asked, looking back at Marth as they walked.

He shook his head. "No, I only just started the game. The only field I know of is Goomba Plains..." He confessed.

"Mmm... kay." She looked back to the road ahead of them. "I've got an idea then. So, how do you know Ness?"

Marth rolled his eyes. "Well, a nice guy named Link came to help me out yesterday. Ness was already in his party, so I got stuck playing with him." He let out a slight sigh. "He doesn't like me very much, though."

Daisy giggled. "Yeah, it takes a while to break that cold shell of his."

The two walked back into the main circle of the town only to be greeted by a large swarm of people gathered at the north gate. Beyond this gate was the large white castle Marth had seen on his first day in the game. "What's going on?" Marth asked as the two stopped behind the large crowd.

Beyond the gate was a small balcony where a pink figure stood. Daisy let out a low growl when she released what was going on. "That bimbo is just announcing a new event. Nothing special, let's keep-"

"Event?!" Marth said, his face lit up with excitement. "That sounds cool! I wanna find out about it." Before Daisy could protest, Marth had disappeared into the crowd, trying to get a better view of the show.

"Ugh... newbies."

From the other side of the gate, a tall, slender woman in a pink dress watched the group of players continue to grow. "What a large group we've got out there." She spoke, a smile forming upon her face. "Well then... shall we begin?" She reached down to her right and picked up a golden crown, which she set upon her blonde hair. "Open the gates!" Her voice echoed through-out the server as the gates flung open, allowing the mass of players to charge inside, smashing everything in their way.

Poor Marth never stood a chance being in the front of the pack. "You okay?" Daisy muttered, leaning over the trampled Marth. "You should never stand in the front."

"Mhmm..." Marth agreed, trying to stand up. Once he regained his balance, the two continued over to the group of players to watch the rest of the spectacle.

"Player's of Super Smash Brothers: Online!" Announced the lady in pink. "I thank you for your continued support of this game! It's time now to announce a new event!" The crowd erupted into cheers, with people chanting the name of the administrator.

Character: Peach  
Race: Human  
Level: 1  
Class: Mage  
HP: 50  
MP: 90

Daisy let out a low growl as Marth began to get caught up in the chanting. "Stop it! Don't chant for that witch!" She said, pushing his fist down.

"Why not?" Marth asked, confused.

Before she could answer, Peach began speaking once more. "As a way to celebrate Super Smash Brothers: Online reaching over twelve million users, I have been given permission to revive the first quest ever issued to the game - Attack on the Castle!" The crowd once again began to cheer and chant, some even using items that caused little explosions. "As many of you know, Attack on the Castle was the first event ever in the game, and was the opening day event, cleared only by the Legendary Hero. But now, you too can earn your place in the game's history!"

"Attack on the Castle?" Marth asked, confused.

Daisy shrugged. "I started playing the game slightly after the first few months. I missed that event..."

"As with all events, there will be amazing prizes." She explained. "Great prizes will be issued to all those who can complete the quest. But only the first person who completes it shall be known as The New Legend!" The crowd gave another round of applause, but stopped once she continued talking. "As I speak, the games developers are working a new area, with new puzzles and challenges for you to face, so don't think it'll be the same quest as you did one year ago! And do not expect to win easy, my friends! For not only will you have to over come the traps and puzzles, but you must overcome your fellow players as well! And among them will be the original Legendary Hero himself!" Peach glanced down at a pair of humans, who besides their size and facial structure, the only visible difference at first glance was that the taller, thinner one was wearing a green shirt and pants and the smaller, fatter one wore red.

"Ugh, I really hate her..." Daisy muttered, heading to leave. "Meet me by the portal Marth." She said as she disappeared.

Peach glanced back up to the crowd. "My money is on them, but do not lose hope! Who will rise to the challenge become The New Legend!"

The final roar of the crowd was like nothing Marth had ever heard before. "I didn't think people would get this psyched about an online game." He said with a little smile creeping on his face.

"Thank you for your time! Please continue to play the game fairly and check the updates section for any news on the event! See you next time!" And with that, Peach gave one last wave to the crowd and disappeared back into the castle.

Marth made sure to get out of the court yard before the mob managed to smash him again. He walked up to the portal, where Daisy was standing there waiting for him. "Took you long enough." She said, turning to the portal.

"Soooorry." He muttered, rolling his eyes at the healer. The screen went black, the only words flashing were 'Your leader is selecting an area'. After a few moments, the screen changed and Marth found himself in an area... he had not expected.

---

"Wha-What kind of area is this?!" Marth exclaimed once loading into the field. "I was expecting smiling clouds and happy music... are we in hell?!" The two were standing ontop of a black rock, which was floating in the middle of a sea of lava. The sky wasn't cheerful and blue, but dark and purple. Black steam rose into the sky from lava and the sound of it burning against the rock ran through Marth's ears. The background music itself sounded deep, evil, much like the theme song of some giant final boss that looked a turtle and was 'King of the Koopa's'.

"Lava River... Level 15 Area?!" He turned to Daisy, his mouth wide open. "You nuts?!"

"No..." Daisy replied, glaring at Marth. "I'm an expert healer. Don't worry, you won't die."

"Thats what they said last time..." Marth muttered to himself.

Daisy turned and sighed. "Lets go..." She took out her weapon, a long rod which looked very much like an oar. At the top of the paddle was a green jewel, surrounded by golden ones in the shape of a sun. The jewels were on both sides, striking Marth with awe.

"Cool weapon!" He announced. "Is it good?"

"It better be for all the gold I spent on it..." She muttered, turning to her right. "There is the bridge." Daisy pointed to a group of rocks floating up out of the lava. "Let's go before other players reach the dungeon first!"

The two crossed the first bridge of rocks and began to head east. As they continued through the sea of black stones and lava, a large jet of stream erupted from a crack in the rock, striking Marth and knocking him onto the ground. 50 DAM appeared above his head. "What was that?!" Marth said in a panic, trying to reach for his sword to fight off the unseen attacker.

Daisy turned and pointed her staff at the fallen swordsman. "Life Up Alpha!" She exclaimed, healing the warrior. "It's call an area effect. Certain Area's have effects that can help or hurt your character."

Marth stood up and brushed some soot off his armor. "Ah, I see." Just as Marth had finished, a white orb emerged from the ground. "Daisy!" He called out, pointing to the orb.

The healer turned around just in time to see a large creature be born from the orb. It was a bird-looking spawn, that stood over twice the sizes of the other two players. It's wings were burning with flames and it let out a large roar that shook the screen. "Hellborne Phoenix." Daisy said, taking a few steps back. "All right then. I'll weaken it with some magic, then you finish it off, okay Marth?"

"Can I really take something that high of a level?!" Marth asked, taking a step back himself.

"Never know until you try..." Daisy whispered.

"What was that?"

"I'm sure you can do it!" She lifted her staff into the sky and called out, "Thunder!" The black clouds in the sky parted and down came a thunder bolt, striking the phoenix dead on. It was a major hit, doing almost over 100 damage. "Ha, and I'm not even an Arcane." She said with a smirk. Daisy then pointed her staff at the bird. "Shock!" She called out, causing an electric shock to shoot out of her staff. The damage was less, only doing 40. But yellow dots appeared around the bird, and it began to rock back and forth. "Okay Marth, he's stunned!" Daisy explained. "Finish him off!"

Marth gripped his sword and nodded. "Right!" He lifted his blade and charged at the Phoenix. "TAAAKE THIS!" He called out, stabbing the Phoenix hard in the chest. DAM 1, it read. "Erm..."

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Daisy screamed from behind. "Why didn't you use your special attacks?!"

He turned with a confused look on his face. "My wah?"

"Watch it!" Marth turned back only to see the beast deliver a terrible poke right into his body, sending him flying backwards. His's HP dropped to almost nothing in a spilt second, to which Daisy quickly called out, "Life Up Beta!", healing the swordsman wounds. As Marth began to stand up, Daisy stepped in between him and the phoenix. "Ugh, it looks like I'll have to finish this one." She muttered, pointing the staff at bird. "HYDRO PUMP!" Daisy exclaimed, causing two powerful streams of water to fly from her staff and strike the bird.

The creature let out a scream of anguish as the water evaporated into steam, and with it, so did the monster. "450 EXP! Awsome job, Daisy!" Marth cheered.

Instead of boasting, Daisy turned and sighed. "I wish Ness had told me I was power leveling you..." She said, looking at the swordsman with a frown.

"Wha?"

"Nevermind. Do you know how to use special skills?" Marth shook his head no and Daisy rolled her eyes. "All right, here is how you do it. Press the start button, which'll bring up your item list. Then press the X button on your controller to bring you a list of your skills."

---

I did just that and it brought me to a list called 'Special Attacks'. There was only one attack on the list, and it read: 'Dolphin Slash'. "I think I see it." I spoke into the head set, highlighting the skill. A small description appeared below it, explaining that it cost 15 MP to use. "What's so cool about this?"

"Special attacks, or SP Attacks, are attacks that use your MP to deal a higher number of damage to an foe." I heard her voice explain.

"How do I use them?" I asked. I knew she was more then likely going to explain, but meh.

I hear a sigh and then her say, "Highlight the attack you want. Now push the R button." I did what she asked, and a sub list showed up showing a picture of the second yellow joystick on my controller point up, down, left and right. And then it showed the same four pictures, but also the R button. "You can have up to eight skills open at a time. You use these skills by using your second joystick. You set four skills to just moving the joystick only, and the other four to moving the joystick while holding down the R button."

"I get it." I replied, setting my only skill to the 'up' motion of the joystick. "Okay, let me try this..."

"DOLPHIN SLASH!" I heard Marth scream on the game. Daisy let out a yelp as I watched as my character slashed her across the chest, dealing ten damage. Oops.

---

Daisy quickly healed herself and punched Marth on the head. "Idiot!" She screamed. But her angry face quickly turned into a reluctant looking smile as she spoke, "...Well, at least you got the attacks down."

"Sorry." Marth apologized. Daisy shrugged it off and began walking again. "Hey, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Are they long?" She asked, stopping in her tracks. "Eh, nevermind, just ask."

Marth nodded and began to speak. "Well... first off, about your job. I couldn't choose be a healer. Or Ness's job, a psychic. What are they?"

"Job Extensions." Daisy answered. "When you reach level twenty, you'll be given a choice to change your class to either two or three others, or stay the class you are now. In your case, you could either choose be..." She paused to think, the continued, "...a Paladin, a swordsman who can use healing magic. Or a Dark Knight, a swordsman who uses death magic. Or you could stay a swordsman. If you choose to follow a certain path, though, your current skills are locked and you're given new skills for the job. And you can't gain any more skills for your original job. You only gain moves for that class."

"I see." Marth replied. "And Ness's job, Psychic is one of those jobs?"

"No. Psychic is an Advance Job." She explained. "You'll have to talk to him on how he got it though, I'm not too sure of the requirements myself."

"And how do you get that second job thing? Like you have Arcane?"

"At level twenty also, you can choose a sub job. These subjobs give most of the basic skills of that job, even though you aren't that class. For example, I'm a healer. We use magic that heals. Yet I used offensive magic to attack that monster. Offensive Magic is something only an Arcane class can do. So now, even though I'm a healer, I have attack skills also."

"Oh! I got it!" Marth said with a smile. "Thats cool."

Daisy nodded. "Yes, it is. But... well, even though I have the same magic as an Arcane, I'll never be as strong as them, since I'm a healer, not an Arcane. Likewise, an Arcane/Healer will never be able to heal as well as I can." She gave a smile. "That all?"

"One last question." Marth said, to which Daisy nodded. "What's up with you and Peach? Are you like... ex friends who are fighting? You don't seem to like her... but you guys have like the same avatar."

Daisy's smile quickly faded into an anger. She gritted her teeth and balled her fist, speaking with venom sliding off her tongue, "Oh, no. No, no, no. That... BITCH... I didn't copy her, no. SHE COPIED ME! Peach is one of the newest admins to the game. And she copied MY avatar! MY AVATAR! WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS IN THAT?!" Daisy exclaimed. "She only changed the color around a bit. Besides that, it's a total rip off. And on top of that, she's one of the most popular system admins in the game. So you know what everyone says when they see me?" Marth nervously shook his head. "You're nothing more then a Peach clone! ARRRGH! I've been playing this game since the third month it was out, and I copied HER?! AAARGH!!"

--

I swear, I have never been so afraid of an online character in my life...

---

"That is why I joined the guild, 'I HATE Peach!' It's a guild of players who think Peach is just a bitch who likes playing with normal players instead of doing her job."

"Guild?" Marth asked.

Daisy looked shocked. "Wow, your newness doesn't seem to stop, huh?" Daisy began to bat her eyelashes and blow kisses to Marth. "Hows about you join my guild and I'll tell you all about them?"

"Erm, I think I'll pass."

"Hmph, fine." She turned and began to run across another path of rocks. "C'mon, let's hurry!"

The duo raced through the fumes and stones, stopping to battle a Hellborne Phoenix here and there. Daisy constantly had to be the one giving the finishing blow, as Marth would just rush into battle and forget to use his special. Besides from a few curses and an intentional zap to the head, Marth and Daisy made a great team and made it the boss's dungeon with Marth gaining two more levels, bringing him to level seven. "Here we are." Marth said, standing infront of a group of descending stairs heading beneath the lava and stone.

Marth was about to enter the stairs when Daisy put her hand infront to stop him. "No, someone is in there. We can't but into their battle."

"How do you know?" Marth asked. Daisy pointed to a red floating orb. "Oh?"

"When it's red, people are fighting. When it's blue, it's empty. You should wait until they finish fighting to get the full benefit of the battle." Only a few moments passed before the orb turned to blue. "Okay, lets go." Daisy said, running down the stairs and into the darkness.

"Wait up!" Marth called out, quickly chasing after her.

They didn't know it at the time, but as they left the main field of Lava River, an voice loudly rang through out the area: "Attention all players in Lava River!" Came Peach's voice. "We've detected a glitch with the final boss in the area. We will be shutting down this server in a moment to address this problem. Please log out now and save your data. Thank you."

Marth and Daisy ran into a dark bluish purple room. It had no windows, four rocky walls and the only light in the area was generated by the game itself. "We here?" Marth asked, looking around the small room.

Daisy looked puzzled. "Yes... we are. But there should be a boss here called Koopana." She took a few steps more into the room and looked around for any signs of the boss.

"Maybe it hasn't respawned yet?" Marth suggested.

The healer shook her head. "No, they wouldn't let us in if it hadn't spawned." They explored the chamber for a bit longer until Daisy announced, "All right, maybe it's a glitch. Let's head on-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the room erupted into a fit of static hisses and crackles, much like the first time Marth created his character. "Ack!" Marth screamed, falling back.

Daisy brought her hands to her ears in a vain attempt to block the noise. "What... What the hell is going on?!" She exclaimed.

The whole screen began to break apart, lines of static running up and down their computer screens. Before long it seemed that the room itself was starting to become corrupted, as patches of the purple stone began to transform into ones and zeros and grayish spots of static. Infront of them, a dark purplish orb appeared. It quickly took shape as the same thing that Marth had seen on the cover of the game, the circle with the off-centered cross figure inside it. From within the circle, a bright purple crawl shot out, grabbing the side of the ring. "Is this the boss?!" Marth asked, grabbing his sword.

Daisy stood in shock. "I... I'm not sure!"

Another purple claw shot out from the circle and grabbed the other side of the ring. The approaching figure then pulled itself from it's prison and jumped onto the floor with a large thud. Marth and Daisy gasped at what stood infront of them. "Is that a... A MONSTER?!" Marth screamed.

The figure that stood before looked nothing like the monsters Marth and Daisy had fought on their way here. It looked more like a mess of purple wires slapped together in a certain shape. The wires took the figure of what seemed to be a giant turtle, standing atleast two feet taller then the duo, with spikes growing from it's shell. It had long claws and short legs, and tt's face was covered by the same insignia that it had crawled out from. Marth rolled his mouse over the beast, which read it's name to be "WirFra./BOWZR"

"I've never seen a monster like that before!" Daisy shouted, lifting her staff. "Ma-Maybe it's some kind of rare event?"

"Maybe..." Marth agreed. "But... I don't think so."

The monster let out a loud roar, which filled the player's headsets and monitors with static once more, before the epic battle music finally began to play in the background. "Okay Marth, stand back. I'll take him out!" Said Daisy, stepping forward. She lifted her staff into the sky and called out, "THUNDER!" A bolt of thunder shot down from the sky and struck monster for a direct hit. Once the smoke had cleared, the two could see a big red, 0 DAM! floating above the creatures head. "What?! No, that was a direct hit!" Daisy yelled, stepping back in shock. She pointed the staff again at the beast. "FLAMETHROWER!" She exclaimed, causing a burning pillar of flames to shoot out and consume WirFra./BOWZR.

"Got him!" Marth cheered.

"Wait..." When the fire died down, the purple wired monster was still standing there, his HP having not gone done an inch. The words 0 DAM! once again floated over its head. "What's going on here?!" Daisy screamed, confused of how her two direct attacks did no damage to the beast.

The monster let out a roar and charge at Daisy, lifting its right claw and slashing it across her chest, sending her flying backwards and rolling across the dungeon floor. Daisy's HP fell rapidly into orange and she was struck with the bleeding effect. Marth gulped and turned to the monster. "What is this? This can't be a normal monster!" The beast looked at him and charged, lifting his claw and preparing for another strike. Instead of dodging, however, Marth lifted his sword and charged at the monster. It swung its huge claw at the swordsman, who ducked under it's swipe and then struck the monster's side with his blade as he ran by. The damage floated above its head: 10 DAM! "I hurt it?"

Daisy stood up and called out "Life Up Gamma!" A dark yellow aura covered her body and she was back in the green HP. "It must have some sorta magic tolerance." She explained, gripping her staff once more. "Marth, you'll need to do the damage. I'll heal you from behind!"

"Right!" Marth turned around and charged at the beast once more. "Time to try my special skill, DOLPHIN SLASH!" When Marth's avatar reached the monster, he quickly jumped upwards into the sky, his blade flashing blue, and slashed the monster in a vertical strike up his body. MAJOR HIT! appeared above the monsters head. 20 DAM! When Marth landed, he gave two quick jabs with his sword, dealing 5 and 12 damage respectively before the monster slashed him and sent him flying towards the other end of the room.

"LIFE UP BETA!" Daisy called out, healing the red bar of Marth's health.

The swordsman stood up and charged once more, managing to slash the beast twice. The monster then lifted his claw, causing Marth to duck down, but instead of a swipe across, the monster picked up Marth and began to bite into his avatar. "ACK!" He screamed, watching his HP bar drop quickly with each bite. If it wasn't for Daisy's quick healing after each bit, Marth would have died atleast five times.

The beast dropped Marth to the ground and turned back towards Daisy. "Damn, I arggoed it with my healing." She muttered, readying herself for an attack. It let out another static filled roar, after which it began to charge at the healer.

"No, you're fight is with me." Marth exclaimed, standing up and charring at the monster once more. He jumped into the air and lifted his bald above his head, preparing to ram it right into the monsters skull. But the monster turned around to face Marth and thrusted his claw into the air, piercing Marth's torso.

"Marth!" Daisy exclaimed, watching his HP fall into red. Before it hit zero, she cast a healing spell, but it recovered no health. "What?!" The beast stood there for a moment, as Marth's HP bar reached zero. As it did, the area around where the claw had pierced began to shake and turn to static. "What the... thats not how players die in this game. What kind of attack was that?!" Daisy asked no one. The beast threw Marth's broken body over to the healer and it landed on the ground infront of her. She dashed up to her fallen party member, gasping after she laid eyes upon the wound. In the middle of Marth's avatar was a gray hole, filled with static and random floating number ones and zeros.

---

"Marth! Oh no, Marth!" Was the last I heard before my screen went black.

I let out a sigh and stare at my blank screen. "I really need to gain more levels." I muttered, wishing I had been able to do more. But... that sure was weird... was that a special event? It had to be. I reached over and looked at the case of the game. I saw the very same insignia that the beast had crawled out of on the front cover.

"Yeah, it had to be an event." I answered myself.

A few moments past and I kept staring at the completely black screen. I was waiting for the annoying 'You are dead!' message to scroll across the screen, so I could warp back to town. No way Daisy could kill that thing. But... it had still not shown up. When I died with Link and Ness, it appeared almost instantly. Raising an eyebrow, I leaned in closer to check the screen. "What's going on-"

Before I could finish my sentence, giant bright red letters appeared on my screen. I fell back in my computer chair in surprise, letting out a small, "Woah." at the brightness of the words. But that 'Woah' turned into a 'What the hell?' when I saw what words were flashing on the screen.

SYSTEM ERROR! SYSTEM ERROR! SYSTEM ERROR! CORRUPTION!  
CHARACTER DATA CORRUPTED!  
ATTEMPTING TO RECOVER!  
SYSTEM ERROR!  
ATTEMPTING TO RECOVER!  
SYSTEM ERROR!

Files of all sorts began to fly across the screen as I sat there in shock. "What just happened?" I asked no one, staring blankly at the flashing words. For atleast two minutes, I sat there sweating, watching the words flashing.

If they can't recover my data... will Marth be... deleted?

At the end of three nerve racking minutes, the words had disappeared. I wasn't too sure what that meant, as the screen remained black. Then some words popped up on my screen:

Character Data Recovered!

And just as suddenly as they appeared, a new message began to scroll, complete with annoyingly depressing music:

You are dead! You are dead! You are dead! Please wait for a party member to revive you! Grabbing my mouse, I went to go click on the choice to return to town. However, before I could click on it, color came flooding back to my screen and my avatar was revived. "Well, thats odd." I muttered, picking up my controller and headset.

---

Marth's first sight upon returning to the game was the worried face of Daisy as she hunched over his body. "Oh, Marth! You're revived! Thank goodness." She exclaimed, backing away from the swordsman to give him room to stand.

"Yeah, I'm okay..." Marth replied, standing up. He wondered if he should tell Daisy of what happened after he died, but his thoughts were interrupted by the reminder of the beast that had killed him. "Daisy!? Where, Where is that thing?" He exclaimed, picking up his sword. Daisy didn't answer, but instead looked to her right. Marth followed her eyes and was shocked to see a tangled mess of purple wires laying on the floor at the very end of the chamber. "You killed him?"

"Well, I...erm..." She paused, her face looking slightly confused. But it quickly changed back to a boastful smile. "Of course I did! Did you think I could be defeated by that thing?! Haha, no way!" Marth rolled his eyes at the healer and was about to say something when a small bright light began to glow over the tangle mess of wires. "A chest?" Daisy asked herself, taking a few steps forward. Light began to take form and in its place was indeed a chest. On the screen the words began to flash:

>MVP: MARTH

---

"Oh... wow." I said in confusion. If Daisy had been the one to kill it... shouldn't she be the MVP? I wonder...

"Open it Marth!" My thoughts were broken by the sound of her voice. So I simply shrugged it off and made Marth open the chest. It flash a golden light and two orbs shot out, one hitting himself and the other hitting Daisy.

You've found The Stone of the Void! Flashed across my screen.

"Aw man!" I heard Daisy mumbled. "I didn't get anything. Did you get an item?" I made Marth nod and she quickly began to whine. "Ooooh, no fair! What did you get? Can I see it, please?"

Before I knew it, Daisy had already opened up a trade window with me. I accepted and showed her the item. "Here." I said, placing the item up. "I don't know what it does. Do you?"

I heard Daisy let out a few low noises that sounded like her player was trying to find something out. "I've never heard of it. Here, give it to me. I'll do some research on it and get back to you on what it does. Here I'll even give you this. Use this to get out of here." She added an item called a 'Warp Pipe.'

"But-"

"Think of it this way." She began to say. "Either you trade it to me and we both leave here alive, or I take it and I leave here alive." Was she threatening me? "Well?"

I sighed and reluctantly gave her the stone. "Sure, whatever. I have no clue of what it does, it'll be more useful to a higher level character anyway." I said, closing the 'TRADE COMPLETE' window.

Daisy began to jump about in glee with a huge smile on her face. "Yey, yey! Thank you Marthy." She said, winking at my avatar. Kinda freaky... "Just so you know, this counts as a good enough bribe to not kill you." ...Wha? Before I could say anything, her staff was pointing right at Marth's face. "You see..." She said, her voice changing to a slightly lower and darker tone then before. "Ness really asked me to take you here... so I could PK you and make you never want to play this game again."

PK? I've heard that before... oh, right, that Abby girl mentioned it... I have no idea what it is, but I had a feeling it couldn't be all that good. Figures... and I thought Ness was being nice. "But, I've never heard of this item before. So it must be pretty rare. And I got it with you so... I think I'll keep you around for a while. You might be good luck." She gave a wink as the words appeared on my screen,

>DAISY has given you her Gamer ID!  
>Give yours?

"Take it, Marthy." She said in a flirtatious voice. Rolling my eyes, I clicked on the accept button and sent her my own Gamer ID back. "Aw, how sweet of you. Well, why don't you log off or something for the night? I'm done playing with you. I'll contact you tomorrow or something. Have a nice night." She pulled out a green orb which transformed into a warp pipe. "See ya." She waved to me and disappeared down the tube, leaving me alone in the chamber.

"What a freak..." I muttered to no one. I looked over at the clock and saw it was getting late. "Ah well... I guess I'll log off for the night then." I said, opening my item list and using the Warp Pipe.

After I returned to town, I logged off, wrote a quick thank you e-mail to Ness, and shut down the computer. Flopping onto my bed, I began to recall the events that had just happened. "That was so weird... what happened to my character data that almost deleted it?" I asked the ceiling. "And that item... was this all an event?" This was only my second day playing... and it already seemed that I had found myself mixed up in a hidden event. Or maybe it was a glitch? But then why would I get an item? Ugh who knows... I turned onto my side, sighed and closed my eyes.

What a weird game.

CONTINUE...?


	4. LOGIN 3

Disclaimer: Not mine. Sad, yes? Aahaha

A/N: Sorry it took a while. Y'know... reviews makes my finger click faster through spell check ;D CAMEOS D:!?!?! OMG:D

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #3: The Mysterious Stone**

RIIIING!

I open my blood shot eyes and glance over at the alarm clock. "Stupid clock..." I said grogglely, trying to turn off the annoying buzzing that was my alarm. After a few minutes of striking air, I managed to hit the button and silence the buzzing. Sitting up, I yawned and looked over to see what time it really was.

"AAAH!" I screamed, jumping out of bed. "It's one already?! I'm gonna miss my class!!"

It took me only a few moments to through on my clothes and rush out the door, the only thought rushing through my mind was me being late.

--

--Kanto--

Daisy appeared in a flash of white light amidst the bustling city that was Kanto. All around her were tall, city buildings. There was only one street in the entire city, lined with the skyscrapers. Each on of these buildings were stores, most of which had many different floors to sell different goods. To the north of the street was a large dome, with balloons, flyers and fireworks forever going off and floating around the dome. It big bright blue letters, the words: BATTLE DOME were written across the front. The only other way the street went was south, leading to a white portal, just like the one used in Mushroom Kingdom.

Upon one's first visit to the city, a player would notice one thing that was absent in this town that was everywhere in the other ones. The sound of people talking was minimized to all but nothing, only a few voices jabbering here and there. The reason? Kanto was considered the trade center of the game. In Kanto, a player is said to be able to find any type of item in the game.

In Super Smash Brothers: Online, there are two ways to get items. One is the trading house, a building all towns have. In this building, you give the house an item you wish to sell. The house then sets it at a certain price and holds it until someone comes along and buys it at the house. The next time you check the trading house, you'd get all the gold they used to buy the item. This was the way most people in the game sold items, but in Kanto it's a different story.

Since prices at the Trading House are set, many people, mostly those who are in a rush to sell an item, or are selling an item that the house doesn't have, come to the town and try selling their item at either lower prices then the house, or higher prices then the house, depending on which reason they wanted to sell. And since hundreds of people screaming what items they have for sale would be very, _very _annoying, many people in Kanto resort to typing the item and it's price.

That's why Daisy's text box was filled with:

WTS: RARE GOLD WEP - FINAL CUTTER! SWORDSMAN WEP! 10K!  
I'm selling a stack of Fire flowers. 15k for full stack, 100 gold per  
WTB: A good Buffer weapon. Whips Price! TY :D  
Trading a level 40 healer staff for a level 40 bow.  
SELLING QUEST ITEM FOR "IGGY THE WARRIOR" 100K TWO LEFT!!!!  
RIP OFF!!!  
Shut up --;

Of course, next to each one of those shouts was a name of a player, but the text was flying by too quickly for most players to even notice their names. In this type of trading, you only notice something that you're looking for and nothing else.

Daisy cracked her knuckles and said, "Alrighty, if there is ever a place I could get a good price on this item, it'll be here." She began to type into her text box:

WTS: A NEW rare item, Stone of the Void! Whisp. Price. I'll be by the PVP Dome.

At first, Daisy had expect to get a swarm of whispers. But her shout was quickly removed from the text box by others searching for different items. Daisy shrugged and began to walk down the street towards the dome, every once in a while shouting her text. It wasn't until she reached about half way down the street did she get a whisper.

REBECCA: Hey! A new item? Can I see b4 I pay:D  
DAISY: Sure, I'm on my way now.  
REBECCA: K, I'll be infront of the dome D

Daisy began to pick up speed as she ran down the street to get to the dome faster. As she pulled up to the dome, she saw a large amount of players sitting and standing on the edges of the dome. "She said she'll be infront of the dome..."

Daisy's eye glanced up and down the structure until they came upon the entrance to the battle arena. Standing there, next to the NPC Pokemon, was a human archer. She had green hair and wore a green bandana over it. Her clothes told her job, a leather vest and a very small mini skirt, plus the fact she was holding a bow gave it away. She was a Ranger. "HEY!" She yelled, waving over the healer.

Just to make sure, Daisy rolled her mouse over the character. It read, Rebecca. "Hey there!" She greeted back, walking over towards the player.

Rebecca smiled and crossed her arms. "Okay, so whats this new item you're talking about?" She asked while opening a trade window.

"I'm not to sure, I found it the other day. I've never heard of it." Daisy replied, searching through her item list.

About a minute past and Daisy still had not put anything up to trade. "Um..." Rebecca looked confused. "Are you there?"

"Yeah... I'm just trying to find it." Another few minutes past and at long last Daisy said, "I... I can't find it."

Rebecca sighed and closed the trade window. "Geez, some scammer you are." She said, rolling her eyes and walking away from the healer.

Daisy stood alone infront of the battle dome for a few moments. "I... I don't understand." She spoke to herself. "I had it last night... where could it have gone?"

"Daisy."

Daisy turned around and saw a tall human approaching her. He had black hair and small black eyes. His armor was a long, following white robe with a large white cape blowing in the fake wind behind it. Around his neck was a light red chain, one of the strongest items a Healer could get in the game. Upon seeing the stranger, Daisy smiled. "Oh, you got my message? It's been a while since I've seen Ninten."

"You know I can't come here with Ness, I'm not level thirty yet." Said the healer. Ninten walked over to the side of the dome, his armor clanking as he walked. He rested his back against the dome's wall and asked, "So how did the PK go?"

"Well..."

"You didn't do it, did you?" Ninten interrupted. Daisy sadly shook her head no and the boy sighed. "I figured. I got an e-mail from the newbie this morning tell me how happy he was I asked you to help him." He rolled his eyes remembering the text of the mail and continued, "So what happened to change your mind?"

"Something..." Daisy paused for a second to try and recall all of the events. "...big." Ninten looked puzzled and asked Daisy to explain. "Well, you see. Marth and I reached the final boss area in Lava River-"

"Lava River?" Ninten shouted surprised. Daisy nodded and his face went from surprised to worried. "Daisy... that area was shut down last night due to a fatal glitch."

"Really?" Daisy asked shocked.

The other healer nodded. "I don't know the full details myself. But my friend said that a group of players entered the boss area and found a mysterious monster. This monster attacked them and killed them all, causing their characters to become corrupted and were deleted."

"Yes, I remember reading about that on the forums but... I didn't know it was shut down..." Daisy paused again and began to think. "Maybe... maybe it was the same monster Marth and I fought?" She asked outloud.

"You two fought the monster?!" Ninten exclaimed. When Daisy nodded, he asked, "What did it look like? How did you beat it? According to my friend, when the party attacked it, they did no damage to it at all."

Daisy began to explain the events that took place last night. "First off, it's appearance. I knew it looked familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it till this morning." Ninten looked on in anticipation. "It took the same form as... Bowser."

Ninten's eyes widened as he fell into deep thought. "The imfamous hacker Bowser, you say..." He muttered. "Do you think it might have been a virus uploaded by Bowser?"

The girl shrugged. "Maybe. But I didn't think Bowser could mange to upload a virus that could not only block the boss from spawning, but create his own boss that corrupts and deletes characters..."

Ninten shrugged. "Well, whatever. How did you beat it?"

"That's where the story goes from strange to freaky..."

--

_"Marth! Oh no, Marth!" Daisy cried out, looking over the body of her fallen party member. His skin and armor began to turn gray and black, the games way of showing that the player had been killed. But once his entire body was dulled, it began to... break off into little pieces. Starting at Marth's feet, the character's body began to turn into little squares, float up and disappear into the sky. "What the... thats not normal!" She exclaimed, pointing her staff at the disappearing body. "Return!" She called out, causing a white aura to surround the body. This was the reviving spell, a spell that could bring a player back to life without the powerful green, '1UP Shroom' item or the more common 'Heart Piece' item. The white aura died down and Marth had not risen. "What?! Return!" She called out once more. But still, nothing. "...Life Up Alpha! ...Life Up Beta! ...Life Up Gamma! ...Life Up Omega!"_

_Nothing. None of her recovery spells were working._

_The purple beast let out a low cackle and began to wiggle it's claws. Daisy turned back around only to watch it take another step forward, preparing itself for another attack on the healer. She stood up and lifted her staff once more. "No!" She called out, pointing at the beast. "This had better work, HYPER BEAM!" She fell backwards at the recoil of the magic spell as a beam of pure energy shot out from her staff. The attack nearly drained all of her MP and it struck the mysterious monster for a direct hit._

_0 DAM!_

_Daisy dropped her staff and fell to her knees. "This... this is impossble." WirFra./BOWZR took a few more steps closer, raising its claw to strike the healer. But this time, Daisy made no attempt to move. "It's over." She whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and waited for the final blow._

_But it never came. Daisy opened her eyes to see a dark gray hole had appeared between herself and the monster. The beast took a few steps back and let out a low growl, preparing itself for a new foe. Out from the void came a small, black creature, something unlike Daisy had ever seen in the game before. Besides being just a pitch black, paper-like cut out of a person, it was 2D and it moved in a very broken manner. Which each step it took, a beeping sound would fill Daisy's head sets. "What is that?" She asked, standing up. "It looks like... Oh, those rumors on the forums! It looks like one of those 'Broken Characters' people were discribing."_

_Whatever this new thing was, the mysterious monster was ready to fight it. It brandish its claws and charged at The Broken Character. As the monster slashed at the character, it jumped into the air and took out what seemed to be a bell. The Broken Character brought the bell down right onto the monsters head, striking it for a direct hit and filling the room with a ringing sound._

_#$ DAM! Appeared about its head, a damage so high the game's programing couldn't even put a number to it. The Broken Character fell back to the ground and put the bell away, bobbing slowly infront of the motionless monster. A bright gray light began to shine from the skull of the beast, where the broken character had struck it with it's bell. The light grew brighter and brighter, until it filled the entire room and blinded Daisy's screen. It was followed by a vacuum like sucking noise, which ended as abruptly as it began. Once the light died down, the broken character was gone and the wired beast was laying on the floor motionless._

_Daisy was left in complete shock. "What... What the hell was that?"_

--

"...I see." Ninten muttered, nodding his head slowly. "So you came across one of those 'Broken Characters', did you?" Daisy nodded. "Thats interesting. From what the rumors said, those broken characters are just glitches that delete random players who are unluckily enough to run into them."

"Yes, I know. But thats what happened." She said. "And thats not all. When I revived Marth, an orb appeared near the creatures body. It turned into a chest and... well, Marth got this item I've never heard of."

Ninten looked over that the healer. "And it was called?"

"The Stone of the Void." She explained. At the sound of the name Ninten let out a loud gasp. "What? Have you heard of it before?"

"Yes... well I mean, no. Erm, I mean, its hard to explain..." Before Daisy could push the question more Ninten continued, "Does he still have the item?"

Daisy frowned. "Uh, no. See, I took it from him in as a bribe to not PK him."

"Dumbass!"

"Eh?"

Ninten glare quickly subsided and was replaced with a sigh. "Never mind. Give me the item."

"That another weird thing." Ninten raised an eyebrow as Daisy continued, "See, when I was in Marth's party, I clearly the saw the item in my inventory. But when I left his party and tried to trade it today... I couldn't find it."

"That weird..." Ninten muttered. "So, go in a party with him and see if it shows up. If it does, give it back to him."

"Is he on?" Daisy did a search with her GID's and found that Marth was offline. "Nope. Oh well... next time I see him on." She pushed herself off the wall and began to walk away. "I'm going to go level up in Kongo. I'll see ya later Ninten!"

"Hold on, wait!" Ninten called out, but it was too late, Daisy had already raced down the street and disappeared into the mass of players. "Damn... it's not wise of her to run around with such an important item on her."

A figure in white gave a low giggle. He had been listening in to their entire contestation, hiding on the wall of the dome just a little ways away from them. "Yes, yes. It's not wise indeed." He spoke quietly, before he turned and walked towards the portal of the server.

Ninten noticed the mysterious figure and raised an eyebrow. "He looks familiar..." After a few moments of thought ending in nothing, so he shook it off and walked down the street itself, saying, "I need to tell this to Zel."

--

"You look sleepy again."

I glance up from my desk to see Mike standing infront of me with his arms crossed. An annoying smirk was placed upon his face. "What? I can't be sleepy?"

"You used to be the one who yelled at me for sleeping in class." He answered with a laugh.

"No... I yelled at you because you used to snore."

His face quickly turned red. "Wha, what are you talking about?!" He exclaimed, looking away. "I don't snore..."

Rolling my eyes, I sat up in my chair and yawned. "What time is it?"

"Time to go home." Came another voice from behind. I turned to see my other friend, Jan, approaching me with a smile on her face. "The bell rang a few minutes ago." Her smiled turned to a worried frown. "You've been sleeping an awful lot in class. Are you sick or something?"

"I just woke up late today, that all." I replied, standing up.

"Alright. I trust you. I'm sure if you were sick, you'd be smart enough to stay home." She replied, walking past me and towards the door. "Do you need a ride home?" I shook my head no as I picked up my books. "Alright. See you tomorrow. Come Mike."

"I'm not your dog!"

"Shush." Mike sighed and followed Jan out the door.

I sure do have weird friends...

--

"ATTACK IT!"

"OKAY HERE I GO!"

A Pokemon in the form of a small red lizard with a flame on its tail charged at a gigantic crocodile looking creature. It swung its small blade and sliced the creatures chest, dealing 23 DAM to the monster. It let out a roar and brought down it's claw, striking the lizard for a good amount of damage and knocking him back a few feet.

"Life Up Gamma!" Daisy cried, healing the pokemon.

"Thanks!" Call the pokemon, readying itself for another charge.

But the crocodile was already in a battle with another player. A female Gerudo fighter, who screamed, "GERUDO PUNCH!", dealing a large amount of damage to the beast. However the creature wasn't dead yet, as it managed to take a bite out of the warrior and knock her to the floor.

Daisy pointed her staff at the fallen woman. "Life Up Beta!" She called out, recovering her HP completely. "Zippo, Nabooru! Try attack him together."

The Gerudo named Nabooru glanced over at the pokemon Zippo. They nodded in unison and then charged on the beast. "SWEEPING KICK!" Called out Nabooru as she launched a powerful kick right at the monsters feet. It hit, dealing 53 Damage, and knocked the beast into the air.

Before the lizard could fall, Zippo jumped into the air and struck the beast with his sword. "FORSAKEN HOPE!" He screamed, striking the monster once... then another time, and finally ending by jabbing the blade right into the chest of the monster, dealing a major hit, over 80 damage. The beast flew higher up into the air, letting out a yell of pain. Zippo landed and turned around to Daisy. "Finish it!"

"Right." Daisy pointed her staff at the falling beast. "THUNDER!" A bolt of thunder shot down from the sky and slammed directly into the monster, slamming it into the ground and dealing 67 Damage. The monster's body exploded into color lights as the three players characters' danced in joy. "We did!" Daisy exclaimed, smiling as she watched her level increase from 44 to 45.

Zippo nodded, then let out a large sigh. "You'd think a quest that had a three player cap would be slightly easier then this. Heh, I gained level. Thought I'd be level 46 forever."

Nabooru walked up to a chest and kicked it open. In quests, all players got the same reward, so there were no MVP's to open the chest. "Ha, thanks guys. Now I've got the Fists of the Kong." She said with a huge smile on her face. "Only two more levels till I can use 'em... Yes! I'll be the strongest fighter around!"

"I guess I'm gonna sell mine." Zippo said with a shrug. "I don't even have a fighter... or maybe I should save it. My friend might start playing the game and it'll be cool for a newbie to start off with such a high level weapon! Haha." He turned and smiled a toothy grin, "What about you Daisy?"

"Hm? Oh, I'll just sell mine. No use for it." She looked around the jungle area they were in for any signs of monsters to battle. "So, now what?"

Zippo gave a laugh and shrugged. "No idea. Wanna head to an outpost? I think this area has one... Nightfallen Lagoon, right?"

"Oooh, I've heard about that one!" Nabooru chimed in. "It's a lagoon forever in night. I heard the moon is so beautiful there, even for an online game. Let's go!"

"Daisy..."

Daisy let out a small gasp and glanced around the forest. "What the... who just called my name? Did you guys hear anything?"

The two shook their heads. "Nope." Zippo answered. "So, Daisy, you wanna come with us to the lagoon? It shouldn't be too hard."

"Daisy..."

The healer began to panic. "Um, no... it's okay. I need to take care of something first."

"Okay, suit yourself." Zippo replied with a shrug. "C'mon Nabooru. I think it's this way."

The two other players left the party, leaving Daisy standing in the clearing alone. "Okay... who the hell is there? Come out now!" She yelled, turning around and pointing her staff into the forest. "If you don't, I'll send a hyper beam up your ass."

"Daisy, Daisy, Daisy..." Echoed the voice with a slight giggle in its tone. "I'd love to see you try." From the darkness of the forest emerged a figure wearing a white coat and brown pants. His hair was brown, his eyes blue and on his forehead, he wore a tell-tale sign that he was a healer. Or doctor, rather.

Daisy's face went pale as the figure approached her, his hands calming resting in his pockets. "Doc... Doctor Mario..."

Character. Dr. Mario  
Race: Human  
Level: 90  
Class: Healer/Assassin  
HP: 640  
MP: 1520

--

-Hyrule Castle-

"WAAAH!?" Ness fell back in shock after hearing what Zelda had just said. "Are... Are you kidding me?"

Zelda sighed, her avatar remaining motionless infront of the stain glass window in Hyrule Castle. "I wouldn't have said 'I'm serious' if I was joking, now would I, Ness?"

The small boy began to shake his head. "No, no, no! Uuuuugh, why didn't anyone tell me that little newbie was part of the 'Event'?!"

"I thought you knew..." She replied softly. "So, tell me what happened last night..." Ness cleared his throat and began to tell the tale of what Daisy and Marth had encounter the night before. "I see..."

"Do you know what that beast was?" Ness asked. "And do you know anything about the 'Broken Character', too?"

Zelda didn't answer right away. "Yes... well... I have an idea, anyway."

"What are they?" Ness asked.

"Part of the 'Event'." She answered, causing the boy to sigh. "I'm not too sure myself, Ness. But I have a good idea of what they are. Trust me, when I find out more information, I'll share it with you and Link. But now..." She spoke in a more forceful voice. "Tell me about this stone they found?"

"It's called the Stone of the Void." Although Ness couldn't see Zelda's face, her eyes widened at the name of the item. "According to Daisy, it was the newbie's item. He gave it to her and logged off. Weird thing is, the next time Daisy tried to look at the item, it didn't show up. She couldn't find it in her inventory." Zelda nodded slowly, allowing the boy to continue to his tale. "And if I remember correctly, isn't the Stone of the Void the item that the 'Swordsman of Blue' protected in the 'Event'?"

"It is..." Spoke the Hylian. "I have a feeling it too is part of the 'Event'. I have a feeling, like the Gem of Light, it is an item that only players who are part of the 'Event' can see, unless in a party with someone who is part of the 'Event."

Ness nodded. "That would explain why she couldn't see it without him in the party."

Zelda turned around and faced the boy for the first time. "Where is Daisy?" She asked. "She did log off, didn't she?"

Ness shook his head. "Nah, she went to go level up."

The Hylian let out a gasp. "Ness... you need to tell me where." She demanded. "As long as Daisy holds that stone, she could be in great danger."

"Danger?" Ness asked. "From what?

"Either those wired creatures you told me about..." Zelda explained. "Or even more dangerously... other players."

The psychic looked confused. "But Zel, I thought only people who were part of the 'Event' could see the item."

"Ness... don't you remember what I told you?"

--

_"We're not the only ones partaking in this event..."_

Dr. Mario took a few more steps closer to the shaking healer. "Yes, yes. Doctor Mario, The Euthanasia Warrior, The Anti-Mario... take your pick. No matter which one you choose, my reputation precedes me, doesn't it?"

"What the hell do you want!" Daisy yelled, trying her best to remain calm.

The doctor laughed. "You know, Daisy... you really should be more careful about what you post on the forums." He spoke in a joking voice. Daisy looked confused, so Dr. Mario continued, "A mysterious monster. An run in with one of those 'Broken Characters'. An item no one has heard about." He gave a small smirk. "You're really in over your head on this one. It's time to get out of the pool and let the adults swim."

Daisy's grip on her staff began to waver and it began to shake. "What are you... I don't know what you're talking about! I... traded that item earlier today. I don't have it anymore!"

"Really?" He took a step forward as the healer took a step back. "From what I heard, you couldn't find that item in your item list. You only saw it while playing with some other character, Marth was it?" Daisy gulped as Dr. Mario continued, "That should have been clue enough to you that you're not part of this event. But I guess a little girl like yourself, who couldn't even come up with a good avatar without copying someone, wouldn't have realized that, huh?"

Daisy's scared face quickly changed to enraged. "I DID NOT COPY THAT BITCH! YAAAAARGH!!" A small orb of light began to gather at the tip of her staff. "HYPER BEAM!" She called out, shooting the beam of light at the healer. There was a large explosion, dust and dirt flying everywhere. When the dust cleared, the only thing left standing where she had sent the blast was a few broken pieces of wood. "He's dead?"

"Healers who use the 'Arcane' as their subclass are so funny." Daisy turned around and came to face to face with the healer, who impaled her character with three sharp knifes. 346 DAM! Appeared above her head as he avatar fell backwards onto the ground.

"Life... Life Up Gamma!" She called out, causing the yellow aura to surround her injured body. When her HP returned to green, she noticed that her HP bar was a slightly paler green then normal. "Shit..."

Dr. Mario cackled. "Yes, my daggers were poisoned tipped. So if I can't kill your normally, I'll get you this way."

"Or how bout you just don't kill me at all?" Daisy replied with a smirk, placing her hand over the spot where Dr. Mario's daggers had stabbed her. Her hands let off a light blue glow and Daisy's HP bar returned to it's normal dark green.

"So you have some condition restoring skills..." He lifted his hands and shrugged. "But it doesn't matter how many of them you have, you still can't get out of this alive. So how bout I give you a choice?" A pop-up appeared on Daisy's scream, asking for Dr. Mario to join her party. "You let me join your party, trade me the stone and you walk away in one piece... Or I take it from you the funner way." Daisy didn't answer, she just gave another smirk, turned and began to run away into the forest. "What's that?" Dr. Mario asked as she disappeared into the forest. "You want me to choose? Alright then." There was a flash of white that appeared only briefly and as it left, with it went Dr. Mario.

Daisy ran through the heavy jungle foliage, trying desperately to find another party of players. But there were no other players to be seen. "Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" She cursed as she ran down the jungle path. "There has got to be someone around here somewhere. Help! HELP!" She screamed.

"Healers are so very slow." Daisy looked up to see Dr. Mario materializing in the air above her, a dagger gripped tightly in his right hand. He fell from the sky and forcefully planted the dagger right into Daisy's chest, calling out "Death from Above." as it hit. MAJOR HIT! 780 DAM! Appeared above Daisy's head as Dr. Mario fell ontop of her lifeless body.

"Nice try, Daisy." He muttered, standing up off the body. Daisy's character had grayed out and quickly disappeared, showing she didn't want to wait around for a passing party to revive her. In her body's place were a bunch of items and gold, everything she had been carried on her at the time of her death. "Oh, not a bad haul." Dr. Mario said with a smile, bending down to pick up some of her items. He stole a large amount of gold, some useless items, a very rare item, and lastly, an item that he could see, the Stone of the Void.

"Hahaha!" Dr. Mario cackled as stood up. "Wonderful, wonderful. Just as I thought. The Stone of the Void. I'm sure he'll be very pleased with this catch."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a green item which transformed into a warp pipe. But just as the doctor was about to head down the warp pipe, he was tackled to the floor by a blue blur. Before he knew it, Dr. Mario was in a headlock with three sharp needles being pointed directly at his throat. "I find it funny the Anti-Mario just killed the Anti-Peach." Spoke the mysterious warrior who had the doctor in it's grip.

"So you watched the whole thing and didn't jump in to save her? And this is the way you greet me after so long? You've grown so cold, Sheik."

Character: Sheik  
Race: Hylian  
Level: 83  
Class: Assassin/Healer  
HP: 690  
MP: 540

Sheik tighten her grip on the healer's neck. "Shut up." She hissed, brining the needles closer to the character. "You... You've been lucky so far. Escaping my grasp just by the skin of your teeth. But not this time. This time... I've got you!"

"Almost." Dr. Mario brought his arms up, grab's Sheik's arm and pushed it off his neck. While Sheik was shocked at the man escaping her hold, Dr. Mario jumped into the air, did a flip and kicked Sheik in the back of her skull with his foot. DAM 80! Appeared above the assassin's body as she slide across the jungle floor. "You're strength isn't high enough yet, Sheik. You couldn't keep your grip on me. Try eating one of those red mushrooms next time. You might just barely get enough strength to pin me down then. Or get a Buffer to come help you."

Sheik stood up and took out some more needles. "I DON'T NEED ANY HELP TO KILL YOU!" She screamed, charging at the healer. At about half way into the charge, she threw the needles forward at top speed, trying to strike Dr. Mario before he could defend himself.

But the Healer was too slick. Not only did Dr. Mario know what was coming, he expect it, and was able to jump of the way with ease. He landed on top of a branch in a tree behind Sheik. "Kill me?" He asked in a joking tone. "I thought you were against PKing."

"I'm a bounty hunter!" Sheik screamed back. "You know that, I don't PK anyone!"

Dr. Mario gave a giggle. "Bounty Hunter... right." He shrugged, his eyes closed. He lifted his hands and turn his head to the left while speaking in a very condescending tone, "PK. PKK. Bounty Hunter. It doesn't matter what name you give it, you're still killing a player without their consent. And that against the rules of the game, no? Or at least... it's very much looked down upon." Dr. Mario smiled and looked down at the assassin. "And I'm looking down on your right now, Sheik! Hahaha!"

"That funny coming from YOU!" Sheik held up her left hand and shot a chain out from within her armor, which smashed into the branch and broke it from the tree. Dr. Mario had jumped away from the branch a few seconds before the chain had hit. Sheik recalled the chain and spun around, knowing exactly Dr. Mario was heading. "You PKs destroy this game for its normal players!" She shouted, shooting the chain up into a tree near by.

"Doh!" Dr. Mario let out a low sound of pain as he fell from the tree and took 70 damage.

"We bounty hunters are just trying to bring you people to justice! Don't try and fit us in with you killers!"

Dr. Mario stood up and called out, "Life Up Alpha!" The pale green aura appeared quickly and disappeared, healing Dr. Mario's wounds completely. He then began to talk once more, "I don't know why you're even bothering to try and kill me. If you can bring me to 'justice' as you say, I'll just come back again. And then whats the point of killing me, mm? A few pieces of gold? Or the chance to become a more famous bounty hunter then Samus? I really don't see the point of this." Dr. Mario started to cry. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Shut up!" Sheik cried, jumping into the air. Her nimble body managed to do multiple flips, after which she hurled twenty somewhat needles at the waiting Dr. Mario. He didn't dodge this time, but instead reaching into his pocket and pulled out a white cape. As the needles closed in he swung the cape back and forth, knocking the needles harmlessly away. Each swung slowly drained his MP but by the time the needles had stopped his MP Bar had only dropped to almost nothing.

"You missed." Dr. Mario said calmly. He reached into his own pocket, pulled out a few blades of his own and gave a cold grin. "It's my turn now."

Dr. Mario jumped at the Hylian and brought his blade down upon her, only to have it be blocked by one of Sheik's own needles. Sheik pushed back and sent Dr. Mario through the air as she tossed a few more of her sharp needles at the healer. Unlike before, Dr. Mario didn't have time to dodge, as he was airborne, so he took about 130 points worth of damage before he landed. Once it hit the ground, however, Dr. Mario disappeared in a white blur.

Sheik glanced around the field, searching for any signs of the healer. But she didn't see anything. "Where did that bastard go..." Sheik muttered, looking in every direction... except up.

"Death from Above!" Dr. Mario called out as he fell from the covering of the tree's leaves with his dagger pointed right at Sheiks skull. Dr. Mario's skill almost struck, had Sheik not managed to use her own in time.

"Take this!" Sheik called out, flipping onto her hands and sticking her legs into the air. As Dr. Mario neared Sheik, she made her legs do a spilt, which struck Dr. Mario for 100 Damage and knocked him back up into the air. Quickly, Sheik jumped back onto her feet and pulled out a multiple of needles. She crossed her arms and lowered to her sides, and the sound of needles clanking together could be heard. Sheik's body began to glow a pale white as she charged up her skill. "NEEDLE STORM!" She yelled, flinging her arms upwards and letting out so many needles that it looked as if she had just thrown a net.

Dr. Mario, who was falling back towards earth, saw the huge swarm of needles flying towards him and knew he had no way to dodge. "Alright then..." His body began to glow a light shade of gold, and charged up for a skill that no normal player could us. "Looks like there is no other way to avoid this..." He held out his right hand and began to shoot different color pills. The pills flew towards the needles and collided with them in the air, exploding into different rays of colors. As Dr. Mario fired, he managed to create a small niche in which he could pass through the needle storm with only minor damage.

Sheik cursed herself as she watched Dr. Mario land safely on the ground, having only taken around 40 damage from an attack that could instantly kill level 60s. "Damn it..." She whispered. "Looks like I have no choice..."

Sheik reached into her pocket and pulled out a black orb, causing Dr. Mario to laugh. "Well, well, well! What happened to 'I don't need any help to kill you', hmm?" He taunted.

"This really isn't helping me..." Sheik said, carefully holding the black orb. "Since it took me so long to find this damn thing."

She held it out for Dr. Mario to see. The small black orb was not just a black orb, but it had a set of eyes and little brown feet. On it's top was a lit fuse, which was fizzling away each second. At the true sight of the item, Dr. Mario's face went as pale as his jacket. "Bo... BOB-OMB!"

"You got it!" Sheik jumped into the air, did a few more flips and fired the Bob-omb at Dr. Mario at such a high speed, only a small black blur could be made out as it approached the healer.

While sweat ran down his face, Dr. Mario reached into his pocket and pulled out his white sheet. "This had better not MISS!" He yelled, swinging the cape as the black blur approached him.

Both Sheik and Dr. Mario let out screams which were quickly drowned out by a huge explosion that shook the entire area and scared any other players who happened to be leveling up. "What the hell was that?" Zippo asked, turning around to see a mushroom cloud of smoke rise up from the jungle. "Wow, someone used a bob-omb."

Nabooru shook her head and sighed. "What a waste. So hard to come by and had to use it in such a weak area? Must be a pretty weak team, no?" Zippo shrugged and the two continued on their way once more.

When the smoke cleared, the entire area around where Sheik and Dr. Mario had been fighting had been leveled. None of the trees remained, or the lush grass, or the beautiful jungle flowers. All that was left was brown dirt and some charred trees. From the rumble stood a survivor of the explosion, the healer dressed in white. Dr. Mario's HP bar was almost near existence, so he quickly called out his strongest healing spell, "Life Up Omega!" A white aura covered his body and healed his HP back into the green, but at the cost of nearly half his MP bar.

It took the doctor a few minutes to gauge all the damage. "Whew." He whistled, looking around the landscape. "Those rumors about the Bob-ombs aren't kidding." He glanced around once more, searching for Sheik. "Where did that... oh?" He spotted a small dot off in the distance. Jogging over, he found Sheik's body laying there, her skin and armor having turned a dark gray.

Dr. Mario grinned and let out a low laugh. "Nice try, Sheik. Better luck next time." As he finished the sentence, Sheik's body disappeared. And as it did, the area where they had fought began to change from a brown and burnt waste land back to it's pervious state. Before long the jungle was back and the cheerful jungle background music was playing once more. Dr. Mario stretched his arms and looked around at the recovered area. "Well, that was fun. Now to report back what I got." He took out the warp pipe item and disappeared down the green tube in a matter of moments.

--

I got home and threw my books on my bed. "Thank goodness I don't have class tomorrow." I mutter, sitting down on my computer chair. I clicked on the internet symbol and was about to surf the web when I stopped and stared at the screen.

I wanted to play SSBO...

"ARGH!" I yelled, covering my face in shame. "I'm turning into Shannon!"

Despite the fact that I knew if I opened SSBO this time I would be admitting to myself I was hooked, I doubled click the icon and logged into my name. I saw the 'New Mail!' flashing next to the forums button, so I clicked on it and loaded up the forums. Clicking my mail box I saw four new messages:

UNREAD: Hey Marthy! - Little Princess Me  
UNREAD: Re: Re: hey - The Earth Bounded Warrior04  
UNREAD: Congratulations! - SSB:O Staff  
UNREAD: ... - Little Princess Me

I clicked on the first message which read:

_Hey there Marthy. :wink: If you didn't know, this is your lovely new friend, Daisy. ;D I know, I know, my name just gave it away didn't it? Well anyway, I just wanted to let you know, I made a few posts on the forums about what happened last night. I'm going to find out more info on that stone thingy in Kanto today. Check the posts on the forum called: 'WTF!? DEADLY GLITCH!!!' in Rumors and 'Stone of the Void' in Trading Center. On the first post I'm on page 3 so just like read the first post and find mine or something. I also found out this weird information about that thing we fought... you know, apparently NO ONE was able to hit it, besides you? Not even other swordsman! Now that weird, huh! No need to thank me. I know, I have a bleeding heart. :( sucks huh? _

_xoxo Daisy xoxo_

Hmm... Maybe I was just special in some way? Oh well... I made a mental note though - Daisy is more insane then I though. I clicked the second mail.

_Jerk_.

Heh. I clicked the third mail.

_Hello and thank you for partaking in Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE! We are happy to inform you that you have won a secret code that will allow you to visit a hidden area in the game! Within this area you will find rare items, strong monsters and difficult quests. This secret server can only be accessed by a select few, and can only be visited by outsiders if you take them there! For the secret code, please visit the following website:_

_http:// supersmashbrothersonline .com/x330sdel3te90_

_-SSB:O Staff_

_If you are not sure why you have receive this message, please contact us at http:// supersmashbrothersonline .com/helpandsupport_

Clinking on the link, it brought me to a white page. And that was it. Nothing else happened. It wasn't loading, and nothing was popping up. Just a plain white page. I guess there was some mistake in the link or something. Oh well, not like its the end of the world if I can't get to some 'super strong' area. I hit the back button and read my final email.

_Hey Marth Um... your not gonna believe this, but I just got PKed :(((((!! Some jerk called Dr. Mario PKed me in Kongo Jungle and stole the Stone of the Void! Please don't hate me:'( I didn't mean to. I tried to run. I'm sooooo sorry marth! At least I found out a little information on it. But I think Ness knows something on it, so you should talk to him about it. sry bout losing your item. but I'm sure we'll find another one soon. :D_

_xoxo Daisy xoxo_

"Oh, so she lost it?" I asked no one. I'm not really all too sure what it was anyway so... it doesn't really matter to me. Eh, whatever. I suppose I should try asking Ness about that information though. I am a little interested in what it was. But first...

I closed down the e-mail box and looked at the main forum menu. "Alright... first let's check rumors."

I clicked on the rumors section and it didn't take long to find the post Daisy was talking about. "Damn, must be a pretty popular topic." I mutter, seeing how the topic was not only first but had over 9 pages of comments on it. I opened the forum and read the first post.

_MARAKS BABI: Omg, okay guys this was weird. I was playing with my friends in Lava River last night. And we got to the boss battle but instead of Koopana it was this weird looking turtle thingy with spikes and it was made of wires and it was weird. But that not all. we couldn't hurt it or anything. and when it killed my friend, his character was deleted! I'm waiting for Peach to get back to me about it but shes being pretty slow._

I decided to read a few more posts before going to page three...

_NEVS203: lol. if this was true why isn't it in the game section?  
__MARAKS BABI: I had it in the game section before. I guess they moved it or something to keep people from worring.  
__gamechamp11: wtf no ur a loser. liar. get off the forums.  
__The Amazing Chris: Haha, it sounds like that hack was Bowser's doing. Maybe he did it? ;)  
__ImSoSeXi: No! This isn't a lie. I was in his party. Our friend, whos character name was "Bubble Monkey" was deleted:( its sad  
__NEVS203: I doubt it...  
__gamechamp11: lmao bubble monkey. wut a loser.  
__MARAKS BABI: It did look like Bowser, now that I think of it._

That was enough on the first page... I clicked page three and skimmed down the many replies till I found who I thought was Daisy.

_Little Princess Me: Wow... this is weird. Last night me and my friend were there. We fought that thingy and we managed to kill it. Or rather... well one of those 'broken characters' showed up and killed it for us. But we did damage to it. My friend was a newbie so he got koed pretty fast. but he started to like turn into blocks and disappear instead of dying. it was freaky. I also go this weird item out of it, The Stone of the Void. Anyone hear of it?  
__gamechamp11: lol liar.  
__NEVS203: That even harder to believe then the OP. sry not buying  
__ImSoSeXi: How did you guys hurt it? We did no damage to it at all.  
__SweetlySinging123: I believe them both... but then again, I'm kinda new... sorry.  
__Little Princess Me: I think it had a magical tolerance or something cause my friend Marth did all the damage.  
__ImSoSeXi: I'm an paladin, and I did no damage to it either.  
__gamechamp11: LOS3R  
__Fairy Red: In sutiations where weird things happen, make sure to scream "HACK!" XDDD_

Rasing an eyebrow, I closed down that topic and headed over to the Trading Center. I had no idea what half of those posts meant... I'll have to ask Link or Daisy next time I get the chance too. As I clicked open the topic, 'The Stone of the Void' I hoped to find a few more understandable posts then in the rumors section.

_Little Princess Me: Okay guys, I found this weird item last night. Stone of the Void. anyone hear of it?  
__Mike the Great: Nope. Is it a new item or a hack? idk never heard of it lol  
__Little Princess Me: I think its an event item since I got it off a weird boss.  
__MonkiMan283: That bowser thing u guys were talkin about???  
__dontouchme: I think its just a haxed item. hax0r.  
__Chilled Fever: I've never heard of it before. But I'd like to buy it. Want to sell?  
__Little Princess Me: I'm gonna be in Kanto 2day trying to sell it so meet me there.  
__Chilled Fever: k ill w8 for you. char name?  
__Little Princess Me: Daisy. yours?_

That where the topic ended. Once again... I have no idea what was going on. All I know is that the first time I try to play a game, I get involved in some stupid glitch with some stupid item, some stupid super happy Hylian and some stupid crazy psycho bitch who scares the living daylights out of me. And Daisy.

Why me?

--

Dr. Mario appeared in a flash of light within a dark chamber. It appeared to be the inside of a castle, although it was dark and damp, the only light coming from the candles that hung on the wall. Infront of the healer there was a throne in which a huge creature sat. Infront of the throne was a small female turtle looking beast, who was on the floor begging for mercy. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She called out, bowing her head up and down.

"Heh, looks like someones in trouble." Dr. Mario whispered quickly taking a few steps forward, but making sure to not enter the light around the throne.

"I promise I'll get you the item next time!" The beast said, looking worriedly up at the figure.

The figure began to tap its fingers against the arm rest of its throne before it final spoke, "You have one week Kammy."

The beast looked up at the figure with a huge smile upon her face. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Kammy spoke before disappearing from the room in a flash of light like Dr. Mario had done to enter.

Once the beast had gone, the figure let out a large sigh. "It's so hard to find good servants theses days."

"Well, you have me you know." Dr. Mario spoke as he entered the ring of light around the throne. "And I think I did a good thing today."

The figure on the throne let out a cackle. "Ahaha! Really, Dr. Mario? I didn't think my best servant was even capable of making a mistake. How could anything you do not be good?"

Dr. Mario shrugged with a bored look on his face. "Eh." Was all he said, crossing his arms.

"So what goodies did you bring me this time?" The figure asked. The healer smirked and reached into his pocket. After a few seconds of looking through his inventory, Dr. Mario pulled out a small blue stone. "Is that...?"

Dr. Mario nodded. "Yup. The Stone of the Void."

The figure on the throne let out a loud cackle. "Bwahahaha! Excellent! Excellent work Dr. Mario! Bring it forward." Dr. Mario took a few steps and placed the stone at the foot of the throne. "Wonderful. You know what this means, right?" The healer didn't answer. "Heh... it means we're one step closer to gaining the power of the 'Corrupters'! The power of absolute deletion!"

The figure gave another to cackle, to which Dr. Mario just rolled his eyes. "I have no idea why you're so excited about getting the power to delete anything you want." He sighed and continued. "And I don't really care, either. Just make sure you give me some of that power so I can become the best PKer in the game. Mmmmkay, Lord Bowser?"

Character: Bowser  
Race: Beast  
Level: 999  
Class: "FireBreather" (Hacked)  
HP: 99999  
MP: 99999

CONTINUE...?


	5. LOGIN 4

Disclaimer: I don't own em, or else you'd be seeing this on BROADWAY :D! Stage! Lights! SPARKLES! -jazz-hands-

A/N: I'm just lazy. And spell checking takes so much work (Writen in Word Pad - can't be spelled checked so I gotta move it to another program, which only takes a small amount of txt at a time... its a real chore :) And since ganonpuppet said it, they can suggest the character for chapter... whatever it was i forget. :D Yey. The last program I used too it upon itsself to correct all the 's' at the end of things. So many "Thats" turned into "That" if you didn't notice. "That good" I not caveman, swear.

For your infomation, this story has become my fasting read story, hitting over 800 hits with only four chapters. It surpased a good few of my stories... which shocked me OO yey. Yet it lacks in reviews : -cries- Do you people all just come to read to mock me D: well, for you non reviewers, think of this!:

I'm bored D: Deadline for chapter # is due :o  
But my lack of reviews makes me say "Meh"  
I go outside  
GET HIT BY A RAMPAGING PIKACHU  
And Die.

It's your fault the story will never be finished : I hope that tale of sorrow and tragic epic battle and musical numbers has taught you a lesson. :)

BTW... I had no idea for this chapter title. So enjoy :)

Background Music Fun:  
Forgot it last chapter: Kanto - The Kanto battle music. Remember, the old pokemon theme thingy.  
This sexy chapter-  
Pharea- FIIIIIIRE ELEMBEEEEELM theme. (Opera style)  
Spooky Place: ...Eh, you choose this one.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #4: Full Moons**

NEW MAIL!

"What?" Just as I exited the forums, apparently I got a new mail. "That's... odd. Oh well, might as well check who it is."

I clicked on the forums button and opened by e-mail:

UNREAD: Let's level! - Timeless Hero

It didn't take me too long to realize who had sent me this message. After all, I only had three of those GID things. And I've already gotten Ness and Daisy's message so... yeah that was easy to figure out. Anyway, I opened the e-mail and read its contents.

_Marth. This is Link lol. I'm sry over these past few days i've hvn't gotten much time to play with you like I promised, BUT I'm free tonight. So i was wondering, do you wanna go leveling tonight? I'll PL you :D (Power level btw). You need too gain levels fast so you can join Ness and me on our adventures. haha. plus i have a friend who wants to meet u on the Hyrule Server, so we gotta get you to level 10. I'll sign on around nine tonight & I'll be by the fountain in mushroom kingdom. I dunno if u know any... but can you grab a healer or mage if you know one? We could always use a healer on board. if not... i'll have 2 get Ness :P and i know how much fun that'll be haha. i'll see you on tonight then i hope! Bye!_

I looked over at my clock and read the time aloud. "It's only a little past seven... I still have time to kill before he gets here. Maybe... I know! I should try leveling up by myself!" I let out a little giggle. That'll sure surprise him.

Grabbing my remote I clicked out of the forums and logged onto the game, bringing life to my avatar once more.

--

-Mushroom Kingdom-

Marth appeared in a flash of light in the same place he did when he first logged onto the game. Glancing around the busy town, he decided that now was as good a time as ever to check out these mushroom shaped stores. "Alright... which one to hit first." He spoke quietly to himself, looking around the town. The closest one to him was a red mushroomed shaped store with a picture of a sword handing infront of it. Walking up to the desk, he saw one of those mushroom 'NPCs'. "Hello there." He spoke cheerfully.

"Welcome to my store!" Spoke the NPC. On Marth's screen a item list popped up with different types of weapons of ever sort: swords, bows, staves... all were there. "Please feel free to browse and carouse. Hoho!"

Marth glanced up and down the item list. From left to right, each item was presented with it's name, it's level requirement, its base damage, and how much gold it would cost. Different weapons appeared in different colors too. That is, all of the swords appeared white to Marth, while all of the staves and bows were a dark gray. "I guess I can't use them or something." He thought out loud. At first, Marth didn't see any weapon that caught his attention. But then he noticed this one weapon that was perfect for his level. "Wow! I should buy it." He looked over at his gold stack. It cost 30 gold to buy, and he had over 200 pieces from his last two adventures.

Marth quickly clicked the 'confirm' button on the item list and another popup was displayed saying the purchase had been made. "Thank you for shopping with us!" The toad NPC quickly said, bowing its head as Marth left.

"Alrighty. That was fun." Marth said as he opened his item list. He scrolled down and found the blade he had just bought. "Okay... press A to equip and..."

Just as Marth had put on the sword, his screen froze. The freeze was quickly followed by a low pitched buzzing, that stopped only when the screen went black.

--

"What the?!" I exclaim, staring at the screen. The words were flashing:

SYSTEM ERROR!  
SYSTEM ERROR!  
GAME TERMINATED TO SAVE DATA!

I flung my head back and signed. "Geez, not again..." Why is such a glitchy game so popular?

It didn't take long for the screen to return to the normal log in screen. I entered my name and password, selected Marth and jumped right back into the game. "I wonder if it's something to do with my connection..." I wondered as Marth loaded onto the screen.

--

-Mushroom Kingdom-

Marth appeared in a flash of light in the same place he had just been standing. "Okay then. Now to check my item to make sure its okay." He opened his item list and scrolled through the items he had equipped. "Huh?!" Marth exclaimed upon coming to the weapon he was currently wielding. It read, 'Falchion'. "Thats weird..." Marth glanced through his items once more and was even more shocked to find that the sword he had just bought completely vanished. "What the hell is going on here?! Where did my item go?!"

"You get scammed or something, newbie?" Came a voice from behind. "Best way to learn, I guess." A few giggles followed, but this time Marth wasn't all the embarrassed. He was more confused then anything.

"What's going on here?" He asked again as he fell to the ground, his avatar crying big rivers of tears. "My Gold! My precious Gold! NO FAAAAIR!" Marth hadn't played many online games, but he did know one thing about them: gold sure is a bitch to find. After a few moments of over dramatic crying, Marth stood back up and sighed. "Alright, no biggie I suppose. I'll go shop at... that store!" He began to walk over to a blue colored mushroom store with a picture of a shirt hanging infront of it.

"Welcome to my store!" Greeted the female toad NPC with a huge smile. "Please feel free to browse and carouse. Hoho!"

Another screen with different items showed up. Apparently, Marth was at the armor shop. "How cool." He muttered, glancing at the different styles of armor. Like the items, the armor went name, level needed, its base defense and how much gold it cost. "Oooh! This is one nice!" When clicking upon an armor, it would show Marth's avatar dressed within that armor. He bought the nice looking armor and quickly went to equip it.

--

SYSTEM ERROR!  
SYSTEM ERROR!  
GAME TERMINATED TO SAVE DATA!

"What!!!" I yelled, nearly flinging my controller at the screen. "Whats going on here!?!"

It brought me back to the log in screen. I didn't put in my name and password just yet, though. I ran downstairs and leaned into the kitchen to make sure no one was using the downstairs computer. When both of the two are running, my Internet connect has a 'lovely' habit of kicking me off. But the chair was empty... "Okay... this is weird."

Walking back upstairs and into my room, I logged on one last time. If it kicks me off just one more, all hell shall break loose...

--

-Mushroom Kingdom-

Marth appeared in a flash of light right infront of the armor shop with a glare on his face that told the world to back off. "Welcome to my store!" Chanted the same NPC. "Please feel free to browse and carouse. Hoho!"

"No thanks..." Marth muttered, walking away from the store, triggering the NPC's farewell text. Once he had left, Marth quickly opened his item list and checked. "No! Not again!" He exclaimed, noticing both his gold and his newly bought armor was missing. "This isn't fair!" He paused for a second, trying to remember what he had read on the forums of what to do in a situation like this. "HACK!" He started screaming out. "HACK! HAAAACK!!"

"Where?!"

"Hacker? Report him."

"That guy looks familiar..."

"Isn't he the newbie that was having a conversation with an NPC the other day?"

"Yeah, thats him alright!"

The blue haired human's patience's was just about up."You know, I CAN hear you!" Marth said back, shaking his fist. For the first time, the taunts stopped within moments. "Hmph." He crossed his arms and glanced around the circle, watching players chatting among themselves and forming parties. Soon his eyes fell upon the final store in the district, a green mushroom shaped store with an image of a mushroom hanging infront of it. "Alrighty, thats the last stop..."

"Welcome to my store!" Greeted the green headed mushroom man. "Feel free to browse and carouse. Hoho!"

Marth rolled his eyes. "You know, after hearing that four times, it gets pretty annoying."

"Get used to it." Spoke a falcon looking beast in a white jacket that stood next to him. "As long as your on this server, you've gotta deal with it."

"Wonderfuckingful." Marth replied with just a hint of anger in his voice.

The blue bird glanced over at the swordsman. "Wooooah. Temper, temper." He said before logging out from the game.

An item list popped up for Marth and he began to scroll through the many different goods. All the items were listed in the same order, name, what it does and how much gold it took to buy it. One item Marth choose to stock up on was the ever-so cheap 'Maximum Tomato', an item that heals a person's HP. Another fun item was the normal 'Red Shroom', which gave Marth an attack bonus for a shot period of time. And to end out it shopping spree, he bought an item that he thought might come in pretty handle - the cloaker device - which turned a player invisible for a short amount of time, allowing them to slip past monsters.

"Thank you for shopping with us!" Said the toad with a wave.

--

I took a few steps and opened my item list. "Okay..." I said quietly, my hands shaking on the controller. "This is it... the moment of truth." I scrolled down my item list and saw all of my items were there. I rolled my mouse over one of the many Maximum Tomatoes I bought and prepared to click. An uneasy tension filled the room, and the chatting of the players in the town seemed to vanish. It was a show down... me... verse the game.

"Um, mister?"

I hesitated for a moment, my thumb hovering over the A button. "Here... we... GOOO!"

"Mister?"

It was like watching a movie, I saw my thumb fall downwards towards the A button in slow motion. What will happen upon impact? Another crash? Or will it work? Sweat began to pour down my face as I heard the click of the button and awaited the results. "I can't watch!"

"Hey, um, MIIIISSSSSTEEEER!"

--

Marth nearly fell over at the piercing sound of someone else's voice shouting right into his earpiece. "WHAAAAT? Who's the jerk?!" Marth yelled, spinning around to find the annoyance but nothing was there. "Huh?" He muttered, looking left and right for the player.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... to annoy you." Came a much more meeker voice. Marth looked down and came face to face, or rather, knee to face with a small pink balloon looking creature with big turquoise eyes.

"Wha?" Marth glanced down at the small balloon looking creature.

"Sorry." She spoke again, turning away. "Oooh, I'm such an idiot! Sorry, I'll head off."

Marth reached out his hand to the figure walking away. "Erm, no, wait. What did you need..." He ran his cursor over her body and discovered her name. "...Jigglypuff?"

Character: Jigglypuff  
Race: Pokemon  
Level: 4  
Class: Mage  
HP: 75  
MP: 120

Jigglypuff looked back at Marth with a slight look of sadness on her face. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you."

"You didn't bother me." Marth replied, walking up to the pokemon. "So tell me, whats up?" The pokemon didn't answer, but instead glanced down at the ground with a sad look in her eyes. When she didn't answer after a minute, Marth began to get upset. "Hey, just tell me what you need, okay?"

She sighed and began to speak. "Well, I, um... I'm kind of new to the game and well..." The cute pokemon began to play with her stubby fingers, avoiding eye contact with the swordsman. "I heard some guys talking about you and well... I was... wondering if..." Her voice trailed off and became inaudible.

"Speak up!" Marth said impatiently, crossing his arms.

Jigglypuff let out a slight gasp. "I'm sorry! ...Well, I was... wondering if you could... teach me how to play the game?"

Marth's face changed from impatient to completely shocked. "Wha... What?"

"I heard you were a really good player... so I was wondering if you could teach me how to play?"

Marth's face went pale. "Rea...Really? Who told you that?" Behind him, a group of strangers were heard snicker and giggling, listening in on the conversation between the two. Marth noticed... it was the same jerks who nearly flattened him on day one of his gaming life.

"So, um... will you please help me?"

"Urm, well, I, uh..." Marth stuttered, trying to think of a good way to answer.

Jigglypuff sighed and turned away. "I knew it was a bad idea to ask you. I'm sorry."

"Hold on a moment!" Marth called out. "No, its not that. It's just... uh..."

--

I held my controller tightly, trying to think of a good way to answer the pokemon. Should I just tell her she had been tricked and that I was still new to the game too? Looking over he avatar, I could tell she was already embarrassed enough by asking me to play. But still... I needed to answer her. So I rolled my mouse over Jigglypuff's body one last time to make sure that I wasn't seeing things before.

"Why do you need my help?" I finally ask, trying to avoid the training. "It says you're already level four. Shouldn't you know how to play?"

"Well you see..." A pause. "Well, when I first logged in, this yellow mouse, um, I think pokemon, let me join his party and the two of us leveled up together. But... well, he didn't really teach me how to play the game, so I'm still kinda confused about it. Sorry..."

Sounds familiar. Maybe this mouse was Link's other character?

"Was he always happy sounding?"

"...Not really."

Nope.

--

"And besides..." Jigglypuff trailed off. "I... well, I need to get a special item for my brother. It's his birthday today."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Yes...see, I've haven't seen him in a while, my parents are divorced, and when I found he he played this game, I bought it to play with him and... erm, well that has nothing to do with my item." She said blushing. "I just wanna get him a cool birthday gift... to make him happy." Jigglypuff turned away from Marth. "Erm, I'm sorry, I'll go find someone else."

"No wait." Jigglypuff turned back to Marth as he gave a smile. "I'll help you. Just lead the way to this area and I'll do my best."

Marth watched the small pokemon's face light up. "Really?!" She asked. "Thank you!"

A few moments of Marth fumbling with the controls ended with Jigglypuff joining his party. The duo headed towards the white portal and warped to the field that Jigglypuff had told Marth to head too.

--

The two loaded up into a dark plain. A full moon shone down on the field, giving it an eire glow as mist floated about the dead trees. Crickets could be heard in the background, underscoring the dark and mellow music playing in the background. Shadow's danced around the two, making it seem as if ghosts were watching their ever move. In the distance, what seemed to be an old house could be seen in the darkness, resting directly below the glowing moon. "Is... this is the field?" Marth asked, looking around the haunting surroundings.

Jigglypuff, who was now holding an odd staff that was shaped like a microphone, took a step backwards, hiding behind Marth. "Um... yes... it said so on the forums. The item... it should be in that house over there. I think..."

The air was still as Marth and Jigglypuff stood their ground. Marth gulped. "I never thought an online game could give me the creeps... Let's... let's head out." The two only took a few steps on the crunchy ground before off in the distance a crow began to caw. "Aaah!" Marth yelped, jumping into the air in shock.

"Are... are you okay Mister Marth?"

"Uh... yeah I'm fine!" Marth replied, laughing it off. "I just... thought I saw something move." He began to pick up speed and soon broke out into a run across the dark field. "C'mon, let's hurry!"

Jigglypuff nodded and the two started to dash across the dead leaves, trying to reach the house that laid infront of them. The moon's light shone down on the two, causing their shadows to grow and shrink, each time making the duo more and more nervous of what awaited in the darkness ahead of them. "So..." Marth said, trying to start up conversation between the two. "What is this item we're going after?"

"It's, um... a very rare item." She explained, running quietly behind the swordsman. "I think it's called the Star of Twilight."

"Sounds pretty strong."

Jigglypuff nodded. "Yes... I needed to get something good enough to pay him back." She slowed down and then came to a stop. "Oh... and by the way..."

Marth stopped and turned to look at Jigglypuff. "Hmm?"

"Mister Marth, um... can we be..." But before she could finish, Marth saw something whiz by him out of the corner of his eye. He motioned to Jigglypuff to stop talking and began to look around the field nervously.

"What's wrong?" Jigglypuff whispered, looking around the dark plain with her staff gripped tightly.

Marth withdrew his sword and gripped the hilt tightly. "I... I think I saw something."

The air was still as the two stood there, waiting for something to happen. Marth's eyes darted back and forth, making sure that no monsters were approaching. A minute past... and nothing came. "Well... I guess it was..."

"AAAH!" Marth spun around to come face to face with a floating white orb, it's face covered by two little stubby hands. "What... what is that?" Jigglypuff asked, backing away from the orb in fear.

Marth rolled his mouse over the creature. "It's... a boo?" Suddenly, Marth noticed something about the monster. "It's... it's level twenty?!"

"Is that bad?" Jigglypuff asked, turning back towards the beast.

Before Marth could, the monster moved its hands from it's face and let out a loud cackle. As it did, battle music began to blast through Marth's headset. He gripped his sword tightly and got into a battle position. "O...Okay... Jig-Jigglypuff..." He said, nervous about his fight real fight. "Please... stay behind and heal me, okay?" When no reply came, Marth looked behind him to check for the little puffball. "Jigglypuff?"

"THUNDER SHOCK! WATER GUN! THUNDER SHOCK!"

Marth turned around to see the little pokemon bouncing towards the floating orb, her staff lifted proudly into the air as she called out random attacks. The scene, as funny as it was, made poor Marth's face go pale. "Um... Jigglypuff?"

"Ahahaha!"

First came a screech from the little puffball, followed by a loud slap that echoed through Marth's earpiece, causing the swordsman to wince. "Oh dear."

--

-Hyrule Caste-

Zelda stood infront of the beautiful stain glass window, staring blankly up into the mysterious picture. No one was in the castle except for herself, the only sound in the entire area was that of the gothic sounding choir in the background music. But the haunting melody was soon distributed by footsteps slowly approaching the throne where Zelda stood.

"Am I late? Or am I early?" The character spoke, walking towards the waiting lady with a slow pace. "Are you even there?"

"I'm here." Zelda replied calmly, not turning around.

The approaching character let out a surprised laugh. "You answered me without me first giving the code?"

Zelda turned around to face the figure. "Well, there isn't anyone else here. I'm sure of it. The last person left here about ten minutes ago."

The figure came to a stop a few feet infront of the alter. He wore a white robe, more or less a stylish toga, with sandals that appeared to be boots from the ankle up and two wrist bands. In his hand he carried a bow, and ontop his brown hair he wore a golden wreath. The most surprising trait, however, was the pair of angel wings sprouting from his back. His blue eyes quickly examined the Hylian infront of him, and he gave a little smirk. "It's always such an honor to be in the presence of the Waiting Lady." He greeted with a chuckle.

Zelda smiled back. "And it's always an honor to be in the presence of the Guardian Angel. It's been a while, huh Pit?"

Character: Pit  
Race: Human  
Level: 70  
Class: Archer/Swordsman  
HP: 550  
MP: 300

Pit grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I know. When was the last time? A little bit after you started the guild?" His cheerful expression went to that of an annoyed one. "The guild you STILL won't let me join."

Zelda gave a light giggle, to which Pit just crossed his arms and 'hmph'ed. "You know why you can't join the guild. Trust me, I'd love to have you part of it. "

"Yeah, yeah." Pit muttered, dismissing Zelda's excuse with a wave. "Whatever gets you to sleep at night."

"Hehe."

"So... what is it you needed me for?"

Zelda paused from a second and then began to speak. "Well... we're still waiting for one more person." She explained, gently brushing her hair falling hair back. "He should be here soon... from what I've gathered, he's not a person to be on time." The two remained silent for a bit, enjoying the rich background music, until it was shatter by the loud sound of doors swinging open and someone running down the hall. "Ah, he's here."

"Soooooorry!" A voice echoed throughout the castle as a figure dressed in a matching green shirt and hat and blue overalls came dashing up to the throne. "I'm... I'm sorry I'm late!" He apologized, lowering his head in shame. "I lost track of time and I was busy fighting this really tough boss and... and..."

Zelda let out a little sigh. "Luigi, it's okay."

Character: Luigi  
Race: Human  
Level: 67  
Class: Fighter/Healer  
HP: 535  
MP: 240

Luigi raised his head and gave a nervous laugh. "Nice one, buddy." Pit commented with a laugh. "Almost missed the meeting."

"Yeah I know I-" Luigi stopped mid sentence when he realized who had just addressed him. "Oh my gosh!" He nearly jumped across the room in surprise. "Zel-Zelda! You didn't tell me the famous Guardian Angel would be here!" His shocked expression didn't leave his face as he continued, "Is... Is he in the guild?!"

"First off...You never asked." Zelda answer calmly. And, much to Pit's dismay, she shook her head and finished, "No, he's not."

A slight blush crossed Pit's face as he gave an embarrassed giggle. "Geez, well... I'm not really that famous." He said, trying to ignore Zelda's later comment.

"Are you kidding me?" Luigi exclaimed. "You're like... second only to Mario himself!" He walked behind the angel and grabbed one of his wings. "And unlike Mario, you won these cool angel wings! ...You know, I never did find out how you won them. Care to explain?"

"Urm..." Pit looked up at Zelda to see if she was getting impatient. But she was just... staring. Like always. So Pit told the story, "Well, back during the first game, there was an event called Guardian Angel. The point of the mission was to protect a helpless princess from an evil wizard. The mission itself was easy, all you had to do was kill a bunch of monsters. It was the ending that confused everyone. No matter how many times you did it, and if you managed to get the princess to the castle, you always lost in the end. No one knew why." He gave a slight smirk. "Until I played it anyway. I beat the quest and for a reward, I got these cool wings and the title Guardian Angel. I'm glad I was able to bring my character from the first game over. Hehe..."

Luigi was in awe. "Wow. I knew I should have played that! But I couldn't get a copy..." He let out a sad sigh. "Oh well... so how did you complete the quest?"

Pit blinked a few times and gave a lost look. "Uh... well, you know, it's been so long since the mission, I've forgotten how I did it in the first place!"

Zelda cleared her throat, causing the two boys to give her their attention. "Well, I'm glad you both could make it. Let's get down to business here. First off, let me fill you in on what has recently happened. A mysterious, purple, wired like monster was seen in Lava River area of the game. I'm sure you've read the posts on the forums, right?" The two nodded. "Well, from what I have gathered, this monster is in some way part of the 'Event'. When it was slayed, it dropped a rare item that was clearly part of the story."

"What was the item?" Luigi asked.

"The Stone of the Void." Zelda replied. She continued, "This stone is the very same stone the 'Swordsman of Blue' used in the final battle against the hands. So I believe that the wired beast may be in some way connected to the hands. According to Ness, this monster couldn't be killed, or even hurt, by a character named Daisy. However, Marth, a person who is part of the 'Event', was able to damage the beast. But it seems that it was neither Marth nor Daisy who killed the monster, but one of the 'Broken Characters' that have been showing up more recently around the game."

"The black one?" Pit asked this time.

Zelda nodded. "Yes. I'm still not sure what those are. But whatever it was, it destroy the monster that was attacking Marth. From what I can understand, this broken character might be an ally of ours. But I'm not sure. That is why I need your help, Luigi."

Luigi smiled. "How can I help you?"

"I need you to get in contact with Peach for me. Tell her we need to make a meeting and talk about recent events."

Luigi looked surprised. "Well... Zelda, you know, Peach is a busy girl. She's not a normal player, she just can't meet when she wants too. Not to mention, if you wanted to get this meeting so bad, why did you call me and not Mario? You know Mario is closer to her then I am."

"I'm aware. However... the beast that I was talking about, it took the shape of Bowser." Luigi let out an 'Oooh' upon hearing that information. "Yeah. I'm not completely sure if this monster was truly a monster, or just a hack made by Bowser. So thats why I want to meet with Peach, to confirm. I didn't want to ask Mario because... well, although they are not friends now, he and Bowser were once close. I don't want to risk Bowser learning about us gathering information so quickly and as much as I like Mario, I just couldn't trust him to tell Peach and not take these matters into his own hands."

"Gotcha." Luigi answered with a wink. "Makes sense... I guess."

"And what do you need me to do?" Pit asked.

Zelda turned to Pit and spoke, "Well, the item, The Stone of the Void, was given to Daisy from Marth, since he didn't know the importance of it. I tried to get in contact with Daisy... but by the time I did, she had already lost the stone. She was PKed in the Kongo Jungle server by Dr. Mario. He took the stone and gave it to Bowser. We don't know what this stone's purpose is yet. It may have been something that his monster left behind, something that could have lead to him being caught, and thats why he wanted it back." She paused for a second. "Or... it could be that this stone truly is in some way connected to the hands. If that is the case, we cannot risk it remaining in Bowser's hands for any longer. We have no idea what power the stone could hold. He could very well take over the entire game with it."

Pit crossed his arms. "And that wouldn't be good, now would it?"

"I don't know, you tell me." She replied. "I want you to infiltrate Bowser's Castle and see if you can find and reclaim the stone."

"Uh, Zelda..." He unfolded his arms and looked worried at the Arcane. "I'm only Level 70. Dr. Mario, his best PKer, is level 90. I'm not even in the 80's. How in the world do you think I can get into his castle and make it out alive?"

Zelda smiled. "You won't be going alone. Trust me. I'll be sending someone else to assist you. Ever hear of Sheik?"

"Isn't that the super insane and crazy bitch obsessed with killing Dr. Mario?" Pit asked.

"...I wouldn't say super, but yes. Thats the one."

Pit rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Wonderful."

"Luigi, the sooner you get in contact with Peach, the better. Pit, Sheik will be waiting for you near the portal in Pherae in ten minutes. That is all. Good luck you two."

"Thank you, Zelda." The two replied in unison, before turning and heading towards the doors.

--

"Well... atleast for once it wasn't me..."

Marth stood on the side near a gray body of a creature that once was Jigglypuff. Infront of him the Boo was busy battling two beast Paladins and to his left, a human healer was busy casting a resurrection spell on the fallen Jigglypuff. "Return!" She called out, bringing the fallen mage back to the world of the living.

Jigglypuff opened her eyes and glanced around the dark plain. "Oh? I was revived?" She glanced over that the human healer, who was standing with a concerned look on her face. "Thank you Miss... Elpieme."

"No worries." She replied with a smile. "But why are such low level characters here? This is a level twenty area. You were lucky that we just happened to be passing through or else you'd both be finished off."

Marth blushed in embarrassment. "Yes... erm, well..."

"It's my fault..." Jigglypuff muttered, looking down at the ground.

Elpieme shrugged. "Well, just get back to town before its too late. I have to get back to helping Eibekay and Isyupei." She turned back around and began to call out various Life Up spells, healing the two paladins battling the boo. It only took a few more moments for the boo to fall and the group of three were on their way.

The two were once again left alone. Marth let out a sigh and spoke, "Geez, I should have checked what the level for this area was... I really need to find monsters that I can kill."

"I'm sorry." He heard Jigglypuff mutter. "This is my fault."

Marth laughed and shook his head. "No, no. Not your fault. It's neither of our faults, we're just too wea-"

"No, it really is... I... I shouldn't have charged into battle like that."

"No, really, it's fin-"

"And... it's my fault we're even hear in the first place."

"Uh, yes, but-"

"And it's my fault for dragging you along! I should have just come here myself so I didn't have to put you in danger!"

"It's just a ga-"

Marth saw that Jigglypuff's eyes were beginning to fill with tears. "I'm so stupid! I can't do anything right in this world or the real world!" She turned away from Marth and her avatar began to cry. "How... how do you log out from here?"

"You can't log out from a field, you'd have to go back to town."

"GREAT! Just GREAT!" She exclaimed. Jigglypuff turned back and smiled a sad smile at Marth. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time!" She said before dashing off into the dark plain.

"Hey, wait! It's not safe to go out alone." Marth was about to give chase when the words flashed across his screen:

>JIGGLYPUFF has left the party!

--

I sat back in my chair and sighed. "Wow... getting all bent out of shape just because of a game." I muttered to no one, still being in party speak. My avatar was looking upwards at the bright moon. Despite how dark and scary the level was, the moon was very beautiful.

Just then, a story I heard back in English class popped into my head. We were discussing ancient literature. It was a story about a goddess who descended into the underworld to speak her were sister. When she reached there, she was captured, or something and held for three days, which is why the moon disappears for three days before returning to it's crescent form. One of her servants then asked three other gods to help save her... and thats where I lost interested since the story had nothing to do with the task at hand. I'm not even sure why it popped into my head. Random things pop into your head during these online games, huh? Go figure.

But something made me think about the little pokemon. What she had said before the Boo had attacked. _"Mister Marth, um... can we be..."_

Wonder what she was going to say...

"I better go save her." I muttered, moving my character away from his spot and off into the darkness that Jigglypuff had just headed in.

--

-Pherae-

Pit loaded into a large, middle ages themed city with a large castle resting to the north. To the east and west buildings, stores and houses were placed, with many streets heading up and down through the maze of townhouses. At the very end of the of the streets was a large wall, a wall that surrounded the entire city except for a draw bridge to the south, which was also the white portal out of the town. It took a few seconds before the background music began to pour it, it was a royal sounding song, something that people could sing horrible opera too if they really tried. But just like on the other servers, it was drowned out quickly by chatting of players. After the load finished, he quickly clicked on an icon in the corner of his screen - labeled 'HIDE WINGS', hiding his prize. "Rather not get swarmed by fans today..." Pit spoke.

The archer took one step, paused, and then took another. He froze in his spot for a few seconds before finally moving at the speed of the other characters. "Argh... This is why I hate Pherae..." He muttered, wandering around the mass of players. "Waaaay too much lag."

Pherae was the finally server in the entire game. Only characters who reached the highest levels could make it to this royal server. Amoung the shops were the rarest items, the most expensive armors, and the strongest weapons the game could offer. Legitimately, of course. For the "Blakuro Marketo", one would have to visit the Hyrule or Kongo Jungle servers.

Pit had only take a few steps from the mass of players before he heard a voice coldly call out, "You're late."

He turned and saw Sheik standing against a house, her arms cross and glaring at the approaching archer. "Sorry." Pit apologized halfheartedly. "I didn't know showing up five minutes after I got my orders was considered 'late'."

Shiek rolled her eyes. "I'm not the one who thinks your late."

"Really?"

"Yes. Did you think you ment that much to me that I'd care if you were late or not? If you were late, I'd just leave..."

Pit gave a hurt expression. "Shiek. How could you? I thought we had some sort of bond."

The assassin stared and raised an eyebrow. "This is the first time we met..."

"Love at first sight, my dear."

Shiek rolled her eyes and sighed. "I thought love was blind?"

"...Touché."

The two quickly joined parties as Shiek got off the building and began to walk down a side street on the other side. "Come, lets hurry." She muttered, heading down the path. "We've kept him waiting long enough."

Pit rose an eyebrow and followed the assassin down the street, clicking back on his wings once he was out of sight of the other players. "Him? Who is 'him'?" Pit asked as they headed into the maze of streets.

"Our tour guide, if you will." Shiek answered as they walked. Pit stared confused, clueing to the warrior to continue. "Did you really think we could just warp to Bowser's lair? It's not a normal field. There are only three ways you can get there."

"And those are?"

"One - Be a member of Bowser's Guild. Two - Be a system admin. And Three - Hacking."

Pit nodded. "So, we're joining his guild?"

Shiek sighed. "No..." She came to a stop when the duo had reached a dead end. "We're hacking our way in."

As she finished her sentence, a white orb appeared infront of the two. There was a quick flash, and when the light died down, a cloaked figure stood infront of them. "Is that..." Pit said in awe, rolling his mouse over the character. No information came up... not a name, level, class... anything. "Where did you get a CLOAK!?" But he didn't seem to care.

"It's a hack item, you twit!" Shiek replied angrily.

"Really? Cause I could use one, you know." Pit said with a giggle. "Hehe... So, who are you?"

The figure laughed. "Well, if I wanted you to know who I was, I wouldn't have altered my settings."

"I guess."

Shiek sighed again. "Why did I get paired up with such an idiot?" She wondered outloud. Ingoring the glare she received from Pit, Shiek went on to explain, "He's a hacker. Zelda got in contact with him. Only she knows who he, or she, really is."

The figure nodded. "That's correct. It wouldn't be in my best interest to be helping you two. See, I'm not really supposed to be doing this."

"What? Hacking?" Pit asked. "Well, duh, anyone could tell you that."

"Um, no. Helping you." It gave another laugh. "Oh please, like those silly admins could stop me from hacking. By the time they found my logs, they'd be altered and I'd be on my way to hacking a new item. Though that does bore me nowadays, since that crazy Hyrule Admin began to delete anyone with a hacked item instead of spending time chasing down the hacker." It sighed. "Certainly kills business, you know."

Pit gave a worried look. "Really? So, uh... Shiek, do you think we could be getting set up right now? Maybe the admins can see this and are on their way to delete us!"

"Don't worry." The cloaked player replied. "You're not typical customers. I've placed a barrier around this area. To anyone and anything viewing this ally, it would appear empty. And why would I want to draw attention to myself in the first place, if I went through all the trouble of hiding myself?"

"Enough small talk." Shiek bellowed, taking a step forward. "We didn't come hear to chat. Open up a gate to let us into Bowser's Lair."

The player laughed. "Feisty Me like." The cloaked figure held one hand up and there was a flash of purple. Once the light faded, a purple vortex appeared floating next to the cloaked player. As Shiek and Pit approached the vortex, sounds of static filled their headsets.

"That doesn't look to safe." Pit muttered. The area around the vortex was even being effected, as it looked like the very pixels of the game were being drained of their color.

The figure shrugged. "It's not." The shocked face on Pit amused the player even more. "What, did you expect a completely safe travel? The only real 'safe' way there is to be Bowser's lacky. Two words that should never be in the same sentence with each other is 'safe' and 'hack'. No matter how safe people claim it is, you can always get hurt... or caught because of it."

Shiek approached the vortex first. "So this leads right to his lair, right?" The player nodded. "You know what will happen if it doesn't, right?"

"I do..."

"Good. Well then, I'm off. Thank you for your help." Shiek dashed into the vortex and disappeared in a flash.

"She's very brave." The figure said once she disappeared. "I wonder if she even knows the risks of jumping right into the vortex..."

Pit took a few more steps towards the vortex. "The risks?"

The figured nodded. "Yes. Deletion. Infection. Corruption. Becoming labeled as a 'Hacker' by the Admins." He paused for a second and lowered his voice. "I've even had some people... die from hacking gone bad."

"DIE!?"

"Yes..." The cloaked player sighed. "You kids seem to forget that the computer is as much a 'toy' as it is a 'weapon'. Give it the right color codes to flash and you could have people falling into comas, getting seizures and dying easily. Not mention, your computer could short out and send electric currents shooting up a person body, frying their brain. And with a single press of a button... well, a computer could launch certain... things that could bring about the end of the world." Pit looked more hesitant then ever. "Don't worry, friend. It's my hack, and I've done it plenty of times before, so I'm sure its safe."

"You just said those two words shouldn't be in the same sentence together."

The character laughed once more. "Let me rephrase. I'm sure it's fine." Pit was now staring the vortex straight at it's center. "Well, aren't you going to go? Your lady friend is waiting for you on the other side, you know."

"How will we get back?" Pit asked.

"Just let me worry about that."

Pit looked over that the cloaked player, sighed and jumped into the vortex. Once he did, the mysterious player lifted his arm, causing another flash of purple. But this time when the light faded, the figure and the vortex had disappeared.

--

-SSB:O Headquarters-

"I see..." A young lady spoke, viewing the recent, yet very fuzzy log that took place between the hacker, Pit and Shiek. Just before she could close the window, an envelope appeared on her screen, along with the face of Luigi. It read: 'URGENT MESSAGE!' "...Things are starting to get very interesting..."

On the other side of her computer, hiding below the desk, a twenty year old looking man gave a small smirk and whispered, "Yes... Yes they are."

CONTINUE...?


	6. LOGIN 5

Disclaimer: I hate to say this, but they're not mine. I know, it's heart breaking.

A/N: Thank you for all your reviews. I shall have you know that because of your lovely revieiwing, I decicded to stay up instead of going to sleep. And it just so happened that my matress burst into flames only moments after I booted up the computer. So thank you for saving my life :D

Just a quick word up, Sheik's name may jump between "Shiek" and "Sheik" in this story. It's not my fault, its how I type. Whats more is that both spellings are correct. Shiek is how Shiek was called in Legend of Zelda OoT, and Sheik is Sheik's spelling in SSBM. So... yeah :P

Background Musico:

SpooOoKy Place: Same as before.  
Bowser's Castle: Bowser's Theme... I suppose :P

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #5: Hackers, Bowsers and Boos - Oh My.**

--

Marth ran as fast as his character could through the dark field, searching endless for his runaway party member. "Jigglypuff!" He called out as he ran. "Jigglypuff, are you there?"

"You can just hold down the ALT button, you idiot." Came a voice from another player.

"You can just hold down the blah, blah, blah." Marth muttered, taunting the unseen player. He did just that and a group of names appeared. "Let's see... Wart... Toadette... Paula... Linlina... Pepper... Hector..." He sighed. "No Jigglypuff..."

He picked up speed again. As he did, however, a white orb appeared infront of him. "Uh-oh..." He muttered, taking a step back. The orb had not take shape yet when Marth remembered the shopping spree he did earlier in the day. "Oh right! I have this." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a flat gray item. As he did, it vanished in a flash of light and with it, so did Marth.

Just as the orb turned into a Boo, Marth had completely vanished from sight. The newly created Boo stared at the stop where the swordsman once stood, looked to the left, then the right, then floated off in search of a new target. "Ha! So it works!" Marth exclaimed. A small image of an I appeared in the corner of his screen with a small green bar slowing decreasing in size. "That must be my timer... I better hurry!"

In his now complete invisible glory, Marth raced across the crunchy field, stopping every now and then to check the names in the area. "Oh no, Oh no!" Marth muttered as he noticed the green bar almost reaching the end. "Jigglypuff, where are you!"

Marth's avatar began to flash in and out of invisibility. Cursing to himself, he continued to mad dash through the field. Atlast the cloaking spell ended and Marth was visible and was able to be attacked by monsters. He reached for his sword and stood in a battle ready position, his eyes darting around the emptiness in search of any on coming monsters. When no monsters came he once again began to run.

He had only gone a few more feet when he saw in the corner of his eye a white orb floating up from the ground. "Oh no!" He said aloud, running in the opposite direction of the spawning monster. As he ran, Marth made sure to check behind him to make sure no Boos were following. "Good... ah!" He skidded to a stop as infront of him another white orb was floating up from the ground. Marth took a few steps back then began to run south towards what he thought looked like a lake.

Marth made it to the waters edge and glanced behind him to see if anything had chased him. When nothing was seen floating out of the darkness, he let out a relieved sigh and sat down on the grass. He looked out over the lake, the dark water was reflecting the image of the moon and his own. In the distance a forest of dead trees lined the lake, giving it a very haunting appearance. "Sure is spooky here..." He muttered, looking into the black water.

--

I put down my remote and sighed. I didn't really know what to do. I had a warp pipe left over from earlier... should I warp out? "No, I really don't wanna leave Jigglypuff here alone..." I mutter. But if I couldn't find her, whats the point of me wandering around and getting myself killed.

I looked up at my computer screen and saw what Marth was seeing. The dark lake with the haunting moonlight shinning over the forever dead trees. The water in the lake was still. It didn't even seem that the programmers had added, um, NPC Fish, I suppose they'd be called.

Suddenly, the still dark water was disturbed by a wave of ripples. In my headset, I heard the sound of something small plopping into the water from a distance. Picking up my remote, I made Marth stand up and turn in the direction of the sound. "Well, what do you know?" Sitting there on the lake's edge was the very person I had just spent ten minutes chasing after. "Jigglypuff!"

--

Jigglypuff turned to see the swordsman running towards her. She picked up her staff, which had been resting on the ground next to her and gave an uneasy look as he approached her. "Hey, why'd you run off like that?" Marth asked.

"I'm- I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm just... not good at this game. Or anything I do..." She let out a sad sigh. "I couldn't even get myself killed... and I made it all the way to the edge of the map without running into a single monster."

Marth twitched an eyebrow. "Really? Huh... and you call that bad luck?" He replied, remembering his close encounters of the 'too-close' kind.

She nodded. "Yes... well, atleast I see it as bad luck. I can't even get myself killed? How pathetic is that..." Before Marth could answer, Jigglypuff turned and was about to wander off.

"Hold on!" Marth cried out, reaching forward and grabbing the little pokemon's arm. "No running this time." Jigglypuff turned around and gazed up at him with confused eyes. "Sit. Now."

"Okay..." She muttered, taking a seat on the grass.

Marth joined her and crossed his arms. "First off, why did you get so upset over that? It's just a game you know. And you're still new... heck, I'm still new."

"You are?!" Jigglypuff asked. By the tone of her voice, Marth was able to guess that Jigglypuff really couldn't tell he was new.

"Uh, yeah... I'm only level seven, you know."

"Those men said-"

Marth rolled his eyes. "Those men are jerks who lie and make fun of you for being new." Jigglypuff let out a low, 'oh' as Marth continued. "I may not be that used to online games yet... but I've learned this: Just because its a game doesn't mean its gonna be perfect. Honestly, I thought it was gonna be perfect, since most games seem to be. But these characters are still being played by people. And these characters are being played by those real life jerks. And if you run into those jerks online, you'll have to deal with them like you would in real life. 'Cept, in real life, you can't just hit a block button..."

"This game has a block button?"

"Um... I'm not sure..." He gave a nervous giggle. "See, I'm still pretty new too." Marth quickly went back on topic, "But why did you get so upset over a game?"

Jigglypuff sighed. "Well, I... it's not just in this game that I can't do anything right." She paused. "See... all my life, I've tried so hard to do things right. But I've always come up short. I've never could get that A on my grades... I could never finish any of my chores without being scolded... I could never do anything right. Everyone always told me I was wrong and stuff... and well... I'm just sick of messing up."

"I see... go on."

"However... my brother was the only person who really understood how much I tried. He was the only person who stood up for me, since I couldn't do it. When I was with him, I felt like I could mess up and not be made fun off. Not be punished. I felt happy and safe... but then my parents got a divorce and... I never see him anymore. And I keep messing up and up. One by one... all my friends left me because I couldn't do anything right! Now... I don't have anyone to stand by me, to make me feel safe..."

Marth nodded and let out a faint "Mhm". He thought he heard the faint sound of crying, but he kept his mouth shut, letting the mage continue her story.

"When I heard he played this game, I bought it so that I could not only be with him, but help him. In real life, I couldn't help anyone... not one person. But I thought in this game, maybe I could... I could do something more with my life. Which is why I choose to be a mage... I wanted to be be a healer, so I could help more people. And yet... even in this game, I still can't do anything right. Anything!"

"Well, obviously!"

Jigglypuff's tearful eyes turned to stare at Marth. "Oh... I... Uh... I didn't think you'd just blurt it out like that. I guess I really am useless." Her voice trailed off at the end, obviously shocked at Marth's blunt confession.

"You are!" Marth continued. Jigglypuff's gaze fell downward. "But not because you can't be useful. It's because your still new. See, you just started the game. You barely know how to play, right? You can just assume all the skills of the game will fall in your lap like that. Sure you're going to mess up... and you may even die because of it! But its not the end of the road."

"Really?"

"Of course!" Marth exclaimed. "When I died for my first time, I didn't want to give up and quit. I wanted to get revived and get back to ass-kicking!" He chose not to reveal the whole story of his first adventure in the game. "If you get knocked down a few times, just stand back up and be a stronger person because of it. If you mess up, well, thats okay. Atleast you tried." He turned and looked Jigglypuff right in the face. "But if you run away, you'll never get a chance to try. And if you don't try, how do you ever expect to help people in the first place!"

--

I felt like a motivational speaker... how weird.

--

Jigglypuff didn't answer right away. She remained quiet for sometime, letting the blue haired swordsman's words sink in. "I think... I understand. But... I'm just not strong enough to do that on my own."

"Well, you don't have to do it alone, you idiot!" Marth yelled, scaring the little puffball. "I'll help you, you know."

"You will?" She asked, her eyes lighting up.

But after a few seconds of thoughts, Marth took back his words. "No. I won't help you..." He saw her look of hope fade. "But not because I don't want too. Because I can't. I'm still new to this game myself. So I can't help you... but." He turned and smiled at the mage. "We can help each other. Is that okay?"

Jigglypuff's smile return. She stood up and nodded. "Yes, thats okay! I'll... do my best to help you, if you do your best to help me..."

Marth nodded also with a smile. "Alright then. So now that we've got cleared up... theres been something else thats been bugging me."

"Yes? What... what is it?" Her voiced was already trembling in fear of more rejection, causing Marth to sigh. "Oh..."

"It's nothing bad!" He exclaimed. "I was just... wondering what you were going to say before that Boo attacked up."

Jigglypuff gave a surprised face. "Oh! Well, um... I was wondering... can we be friends?"

Marth looked over at the little mage and was about to answer when a loud cackle rang out through the field. "What was that!?"

Jigglypuff almost fell to her knees with the shock wave of the cackle. "I'm... I'm not sure!"

The sound of dry branches snapping off trees boomed through the two players headsets. Each second the cackling and breaking got closer and closer, till out from the dead trees emerged a huge boo, almost ten times the size of the other boos the group had run into. Marth let out a gasp in shock as the very boss of the area had just found the two of them. "Jigglypuff, join my party!"

She did just that and the two began to back away from the floating monster. It was glancing back and forth, not yet having found a target to strike. "It hasn't seen us yet, has it Marth?" Jigglypuff asked.

He shook his head. "No, it hasn't. We need to get out of here, there is no way we can take..." He rolled his mouse of the distance boss. "The Big Boo... huh?" Marth then noticed something was different about this boss. It's HP gauge was already showing, something that shouldn't be shown unless your in a battle with it. What's weirder still is that it's HP was far, far down in the red. "What the..."

"Marth, look!" Marth looked over closely at the Boo and he saw on the ground three bodies of characters who had apparently fought the monster and fallen in combat. "Thats the monster thats supposed to drop the shield!"

"You serious?!" Jigglypuff nodded. "...Great."

--

I sat there, my hands shaking as I looked over the approaching boss. I hit a button on my control and Marth took out his sword. "It's already been weakened..." I say, gulping once I finished my sentence. "Maybe... we can take it."

"We don't have too, Marth!" I heard Jigglypuff's voice cry out in my headset. "It's too tough. Let's just get out of here."

I gave a smirk, although I knew I hadn't done the same for Marth. "Heh, Jigglypuff..." I muttered. "Didn't you hear anything I just said? You won't be able to help anyone if you don't try!"

With that, I pushed my control stick forward and charged Marth into battle. I heard Jigglypuff called out to me, but I ignored her cries as the Big Boo noticed me and the battle music began. "Just stay behind me and heal!" I said, hoping she heard me.

"Alright!"

Good. She did. I made Marth grip his sword and ready himself for the first attack. "Okay then! Let's start helping others by helping your brother get the best damn birthday gift ever!"

In game, that is.

--

Pit fell from the purple vortex and crashed onto the stony ground with a thud. "Ouch..." He muttered, although not really feeling the pain.

"What took you? I had time enough to have a full whisper conversation with Zelda in the time it took you to get here."

He didn't need to look up to know who had said that. Pit stood up and brushed off some dirt from his robe. "I like to make sure I'm not jumping into a pit of hell before I charge into a random portal."

Sheik rolled her eyes. "If you haven't noticed, we're in hell."

The angel glanced around his surroundings. "My oh my, it seems we are."

The area was much like 'Lava River', with red molten lava flowing in a sea around floating black stones. The sky was clouded and purple, the sounds of thunder bursting in their headsets. One difference was that there was a large mass of solid stone right across a stone bridge. And built upon this stone mass was a large, gothic looking castle, with a headshot of the very player they came looking for - Bowser. Behind the castle, six small towers emerged from the landscape. Although they could not see it, all six of these towers were connected to a circular building behind the castle. On the other side of the stone bridge was an archway was erected with the words carved in: 'Abandon all hope, ye who enters here'.

"Isn't that plagiarism?"

Sheik shrugged. "Who cares. Lets just go."

The two ran over to the stone bridge, under the arch and right up to the gates of the castle. Sheik got to them first, and outreached her hand to grab the two handles on the door. But as she did, an electric wave shot through her body and sent her flying backwards. 600 DAM! Appeared above her head, dropping her HP bar far, FAR into the red and almost nothing.

Pit let out a low giggle as he took out a tomato shape item and threw it over to Sheik. It exploded half way towards her and raised her HP bar back into orange. Sheik then stood up and brought her right index and middle finger up to her face. "Life Up Gamma!" She called out, healing the rest of her wounds in one shot.

"I forgot you were a healer." Pit remarked as Sheik walked back up to the doors.

"Me too." She replied, examining the doors. "Bowser must have some sort of... lock on the doors."

Pit nodded. "Yes. How do you suggest we get in?"

"You don't."

The two turned around to see a rather chubby man standing there. His clothes looked very much like that of Luigi - having overalls and a shirt. Besides the fact that he was clearly heavier, his shirt was yellow and his overalls were a purple. He had a Z shaped mustache and a huge purple nose, and on his head he wore a yellow cap with a W.

Character: Wario  
Race: Human  
Level: 60  
Class: "BombThrower" (Hacked)  
HP: 590  
MP: 210

Sheik raised an eyebrow. "Um... just who are you? One of Bowser's lackeys?"

Wario gave the assassin a glare. "NO I AM NOT!" He exclaimed. "My name is Wario the Great! I am Lord Bowser's personal safety vault." Wario said, pointing to himself proudly. "He allows me to hold onto his most prized items and trusts me with guarding them!"

Pit couldn't help but give a giggle. "So, you're a mule?" Mule is a term that referred to characters created by users with their only purpose in the game being to hold extra items they could no longer store.

This 'insult' sent the plump man into a rage. "I AM NO MULE!" He screamed. "AND JUST FOR THAT COMMENT, I'LL MAKE SURE YOUR DEATHS ARE SLOW AND PAINFUL!"

"Not like we could feel that pain..." Pit added, rolling his eyes.

Wario let out a loud growl and reached into his pocket. Pit and Sheik both let out shocked gasps at what he had just pulled out. "A Bab-omb!" They exclaimed in unison, getting into battle ready positions.

"Bwahaha, and thats not all!" He cackled, reaching into his pocket once again. He then pulled out another bab-omb and smirked. "I've hacked my character so that the only attack skill this buddy needs is the power to throw Bab-ombs. So, say goodnight!" He flung the two bab-ombs at the duo, who both managed to jump out of the way in the last second. But their escape was not foolproof, as the two large explosions rocked the board, sending stone and lava flying everywhere, dealing over 200 Damage to each of the three.

Up on the top level of the castle, a large turtle sat in a throne. There was an extremely loud explosion, followed by the rocking of his castle. "What the!" He called out. Startled, Bowser stood up and ran over to the window. His surprised look turned into one of amusement. "I see. We have visitors. Bwahaha, this calls for a reception party!"

Little did Bowser know, but his most faithful servant Dr. Mario had been hiding behind one of the many pillars, listening to what the Koopa had to say. "Heheh. Not if I can get to them first." He whispered, disappearing a flash of white light.

Outside, large stacks of black smoke were rising up from two craters, now beginning to flow with lava. Sheik landed next to one of the craters with ease and rubbed some dirt off her. Pit floated down from the sky soon after, having used his wings to escape the bab-omb blast in time. "I forgot I could fly." He said as his feet touched the stone.

As the smoke cleared, the outline of the large man could be seen standing across from the duo, his hands cupping two more orbs. "Alright Pit... here is how we'll do this." Sheik spoke, bending her knees and taking out some needles as Pit readied his bow.

--

The sound of blades slashing through the air echoed over the odd background music of the area. Marth jumped around the field, each move swinging his saber at the beast, dealing small amounts of damage.

2 DAM! 3 DAM! 2 DAM! Appeared above the Boo's head as it prepared its next move. "Ahahaha!" It cackles, launching a powerful punch at the nimble swordsman.

"Jump, Marth!" Jigglypuff called out from the sideline.

At the last second, Marth jumped into the air as the fist collided with the earth. He lifted his sword over his head and brought it down right on the face of the beast. 4 DAM! But he wasn't done yet. As he was falling, Marth's blade began to glow blue. "DOLPHIN SLASH!" He called out, jolting upwards through the air and striking the boo with his saber. MAJOR HIT! 6 DAM!

The boo floated backwards and readied another punch. As Marth landed on the ground it let it's fist fly, hitting the human dead on. "YAAAARGH!" Marth's character screamed, flying backwards and slamming into a tree. His HP went from bright green to dark red in a matter of an instant.

"Life Alpha!" Jigglypuff called out, healing the swordsman slightly. "Life Up Alpha! Life Up Alpha!" She cried twice more, returning the swordsman to his full health.

But the healing attracted the gaze of the Big Boo. It gave another cackle and began to charge at the small Jigglypuff. As it reached the puffball, however, Marth gave a few hard slashes to the side of the boo, each dealing around 3 Damage. The boo turned back to Marth and tried to punch him once more, but Marth rolled under the fist, sprung up and sliced the Boo from close range.

Slowly but surely, the Boo's HP was going down. Jigglypuff took this time to dash away from the battle scene and find a safe place to wait till Marth needed more healing. It didn't take long for Marth to need it, as the boo delivered a quick punch, knocking Marth onto his back once again. "Life Up Alpha!" She called a few more times, healing the swordsman.

And this, in turn, attracted the Boo's attention to the pokemon. The patern of Marth attacking, being hurt and Jigglypuff's healing attracting the boo till Marth entered combat again continued for about three minutes. "How much longer?!" Jigglypuff called out, her MP almost on the verge of nothing.

"He only has about..." Marth jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding another punch from the boo. "30 HP Left!" He cried.

The boo swung its small fists a few more times, Marth dodging each swing. He slashed the Boo a few more times, dealing around 10 damage. But as he prepared to strike again, the Boo landed a direct hit on the blue haired swordsman, smashing him downward into the ground. "Yaargh!" He cried out, slamming into the dirt. His HP bar dropped to almost nothing.

"Life Up Alpha!" Jigglypuff called, rasing her staff in the air. The pale green aura surrounded Marth and his HP raised slightly. "Life Up- Eh?" The Boo turned and looked at her and as it did, its eyes shot wide open and a yellow ring shot out from them. Jigglypuff froze with her staff in the air, her body shaking all over and her spell not casting. "Wha-Whats going on here!?"

Marth stood up and took out a maximum tomato. It disappeared quickly and his HP rose to normal. "What happened?"

"My spells wont cast! My character isn't moving! Nothing is working!" She exclaimed.

Marth quickly opened the small text window at the bottom of his screen. He scrolled up slightly and read what the Boo had done to her.

>BIG BOO used SCARY GAZE on JIGGYLPUFF!  
>JIGGLYPUFF has become fearful! JIGGLYPUFF can not move or use skills!

"Well isn't that just lovely!" Marth cried out as the Boo brought another punch down on him. He managed to dodge and lifted his sword, preparing for his next strike. "This isn't good..." He muttered.

The Big Boo moved in closer, it's eyes set directly on Marth. Marth took a step back. "Marth..." Jigglypuff whispered, her character still frozen. "If he hits you just once... its over! I knew it! I knew we shouldn't have tried too-" Before she could finish her sentence the sound of someone running filled her headset. The Boo had apparently also heard the footsteps, having turned away from Marth and facing the approaching runner as it picked up speed. As suddenly as it began, however, it stopped. "Eh?" Jigglypuff looked up just in time to see a flash of green jump out of the trees, it's sword lifted and ready to strike.

The Boo had readied himself for the upcoming attack. The new fighter had jumped from the woods and brought his saber down on the boo's arm, blocking the attack. The swordsman pulled back his sword, flipped in the air and landed with a smirk on his Hylian face. "Link!" Marth called out, shocked to see his friend.

His smirk turned into a happy smile. "Hello Marth! Sorry I'm late, I got caught up with dinner." Before Marth could answer back, Link had gone back to fight. He swung his blade three times, but each strike was blocked by one of the Boo's hand. On the fourth and final strike, the boo brought both of it's hands down to block the sword's swing, causing a stalemate between Link and the Big Boo. Link gritted his teeth as the Boo began to slowly over power him and push the sword away from his body. But as it did, Link's body began to glow red. A few moments of glowing ended with a star flashing over Link's head. "I know I'm not supposed to use this... but oh well!"

Marth and Jigglypuff stood on and watched in awe as Link suddenly gained enough power to not only thrust his sword upwards out of the Boo's grip, but also send the ghost soaring into the sky. Link quickly jumped up after it and caught up to the beast in mid-air. As he did, two triangles formed around the giant beast which held the monster in place. Once they formed, they began to slowly rotate, spinning the Big Boo as Link began to wildly swing his sword, striking the beast from every angle. 500 DAM! 200 DAM! 420 DAM! 300 DAM! 500 DAM! all rose up from the sight, leaving the two on the earth speechless.

"Is that... a hack?" Jigglypuff asked, her character still frozen. "Or is it possible to become that strong?"

Marth was in took much shock to even answer. "Link..." Was all he could mutter.

His wildly strokes was finished off with three slashes, one going from the upper right to bottom left, one going from the upper left to bottom right and then one final jab right through the center of the boo. MAJOR DAM! #$ DAM! Appeared as the two triangles began to die down. "What the?!" Marth and Jigglypuff cried out, shocked at the 'number' given for it's damage.

Link and the Boo began to fall back towards the ground. Link landed, first, his sword glowing yellow slightly, followed by the huge body of the Boo slamming into the earth. It's body quickly exploded and disappeared and as it did, a flourish was heard on both Marth and Jigglypuff's headset, showing that they had both gained a level. Or two in Jigglypuff's case. As it disappeared, it also left behind a chest with the words flashing across the screen:

>MVP: MARTH

Marth and Jigglypuff were speechless as Link turned around with a smile. "That boss was pretty tough, huh?" He asked, giggling slightly.

"Uh..." Marth couldn't muster any words.

"Marth, isn't that your chest?" Go open it!" Link pointed to the treasure left behind. "Hurry, hurry! I'll heal your friend here while you do it."

"Sure..." Marth replied uneasy. He walked over to the large chest and kicked it open. Out floated two orbs of light, one of which struck him and the other which struck the now healed Jigglypuff.

You've found 600 Gold and a STAR OF TWILIGHT!

"What's a warp pipe?" Marth heard Jigglypuff ask randomly, followed by Link's hour long explanation.

--

I wasn't too sure what to say at that moment. What the hell had Link just used? That didn't look too normal...

"Thank you uh... say... who are you?" I heard Jigglypuff ask.

"Link. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jigglypuff!"

I had so many questions to ask Link right now. "Liiiink!" I cried, my mind still confused. "How did you know we were here? What the hell was that skill? Why am I the MVP? How did you attack that monster, I thought you couldn't unless you were in a party? Are you early or late? Why is this game so weird? And how can I learn to do that?"

Link burst out laughing. "Haha. You're funny, Marth." He replied, holding his sides. "One question at a time please."

Something told me that laugh was very staged. But oh well...

--

Marth nodded and began to walk back towards Jigglypuff and Link. "Um, okay... How did you find us?"

"I overheard some players talking about how they tricked a newbie into going up to another newbie and heading to a high level area for some item." He smiled again. "I figured it was you, so I just came on a hunch!"

"I... don't know if I should be flattered or insulted by that..."

Link gave a laugh. "Well, I'll explain answer the rest of your questions when we get back to town. C'mon, invite me!" Marth did just that and once he did, Link pulled out a red version of a warp pipe item. As it began to take shape, however, it appeared to be much bigger then a normal warp pipe, having surrounded all three of the party members. "This is a Travel Pipe." He explained after seeing the confused look on Marth's face. "It'll take us back to town as a party, not one by one. Everyone ready? Off we go!"

And with that, the three disappeared into the travel pipe, leaving behind the very spooky world.

--

"Oof!" Wario yelled as he fell to the ground with a thud. His body was bruised and beaten, and his HP bar showed he was very, very close to death. Standing behind the fallen man was Sheik, who was busy dusting off her hands and Pit, who was letting out a yawn.

"As Bowser's personal 'safety vault', I expected more from you." Pit said in a bored tone, floating into the air.

Sheik crossed her arms. "Really? I'm surprised you even expect anything from something as pathetic as a 'mule'."

Pit let out a giggle as Wario cursed the two under his breath. "This fight..." He muttered weakly as his character began to get up. "Isn't over yet!"

"Oh, but it is." Sheik said, stepping on Wario's back, pushing him back down to the stone. "Now, you've got two choices my friend. One, open the door and we let you walk away with what little HP you have left..."

Wario gave a cackle. "I'd never do that."

"Or two..." Sheik looked over at Pit, who nodded and landed over by Wario's head and pointed a readied arrow right at his skull. The human gasped momentarily as the assassin continued, "We kill you now and take all your goodies that 'Lord Bowser' has entrusted you."

Faced with two painful choices, Wario let out a low growl and agreed, "Fine, I'll open the door..." There was a few seconds of silence before a loud 'CLICK' was heard as the doors began to open.

"Wow, he did it." Pit said, slightly shocked that Wario would give in so easy.

Sheik smiled, although it couldn't been seen under her armor. "Ah, thank you." She spoke. Sheik began to walk away, but after she took a few steps she turned around flung her arm across her body. A few small flashes of light was all that could be seen as five of her needles quickly embedded into Wario's body, killing off the hacker. Just as suddenly as he had died his body disappeared.

"Haha, he's sure in a hurry to get back on!" Pit gave a laugh. His laugh quickly faded as he saw a large amount of rare items form where the fat man had just been killed. "Oooh, Sheik, look! The Sonic Arrow! Can I keep it, please?"

"Of course not! Those are all hacked items, you twit!" Sheik exclaimed, walking into the castle.

Pit let out a low pout. "Hmph, you don't have to be so mean..." He muttered, following her into the castle. The two walked into the dark castle. No lights were lit, and the only light that came from the programing. "Its pretty dark."

"You afraid of the dark?" Sheik commented, not stopping once in her march into the castle.

"Of course not. I was worried that you might get lost, though."

Just as the two reached about midway into the castle, the doors behind them slammed shut. Pit and Sheik spun around at the sound, watching helplessly as they were locked in. As the door shut, a large light shone down infront of them. The two turned back around and saw four shells resting infront of them. One red, one yellow, one green and one black. "What the hell are those?" Sheik muttered, walking towards the shells.

Before she could reach them, the red one jumped into the air. Sheik took a step back and readied some needles, preparing for an foe. As the shell flew into the air, yellow arms and legs shoot out of four holes in the shell, followed by one head from the final hole. It was a red shelled Koopa, with a red mask covering his eyes. "Not so fast dude!" He called out, pointing to the assassin. As he did the other three shells jumped into the air and performed likewise acts till there was a black koopa, yellow koopa, and a green koopa standing behind the red.

"Like, this is Lord Bowser's castle!" Exclaimed the yellow koopa. "Only members of Bowser's guild are allowed in."

The Green Koopa let out a gasp. "You mean these dudes aren't?"

"Of course not!" Yelled the black koopa. "Why would Lord Bowser let such an ugly woman into his guild!?" Pit let out a low cackle as Sheik shot him a death glare. "And that thing called Sheik? Horrible!" The two switch rolls this time.

"I don't think you should be so harsh on them Black." Spoke the Yellow Koopa, strolling up past Sheik.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Sheik bellowed, shocked the turtle would just walk by so calmly.

But the koopa didn't look back. It stopped infront of Pit and smiled. "Hey baby. Hows about you and me go cook up a little something something behind the castle? Maybe some pizza?"

Pit's angry glare could have even scared Sheik away. "...Get away. Now." He muttered, the words coming out of his mouth as a snake spews its poison.

"DUDE!" Exclaimed the Green Koopa. "Did you hear that? I think thats a dude, dude."

Yellow looked back at Green confused. "Seriously?" He turned back to Pit with a confused looked on his face. "Dude... are you a dude?"

There was a flash of golden light, followed by the thud of the falling koopa's body. Pit was standing there, his bow having just fired and steam shooting out of his ears in angry. "I DO NOT EVEN REMOTELY LOOK LIKE A GIRL!"

"Uh-Oh!" The Black Koopa said, taking a step back. "Dudechick just killed Yellow! Man, we gotta do something!"

"ALRIGHT! No more playing around!" Exclaimed the Red Koopa. "KOOPA BROS... ATTACK!"

The three remanning Koopa's joined together and jumped in unison towards Shiek and Pit. Shiek bent down and prepared some needles as Pit readied another arrow in his string. "Here they come!" Sheik called out as the turtles approached.

Snap.

Before the three koopas could reach the two heros, they exploded into big bursts of confetti. Sheik and Pit exchanged confused glances as the confetti fell to the ground. "Sorry about that." Came a familiar voice from the shadows. "Those were Bowser's second line of defense. They're pretty weak, but I didn't feel like waiting around for you two to take them out."

Pit lowered his bow and Sheik gave a growl. "Well, look who it is." She hissed.

Dr. Mario stepped into the spotlight used by the Koopa's before and gave a smirk. "It's wonderful to see you too, my dear." Sheik tensed up, clueing to the healer that she was about to attack. "Relax... I'm not here to fight." The two didn't seem to ease up on their weapons at that statement. "Heh. I don't blame you for not trusting me. But this offer I'm about to make is in your best interest. You see, at this very moment, Lord Bowser is gathering his best hacking troops and heading our way."

"So?!" Pit exclaimed. "We'll take him down, no sweat!"

Sheik shot Pit a glare that told him to be quiet, then looked back to Dr. Mario. "And you're point? We did come all this way to meet with the big guy himself."

Dr. Mario let out a giggle. "And I'm sure you didn't come all this way to have your characters become deleted either, right? Even though the rumors go around that Bowser can't delete players... those rumors were started by the admins to calm the gaming population."

Pit was about to send a hotheaded answer when he noticed a message appeared on his screen.

>SHEIK: Don't say anything.  
>SHEIK: Let's listen to what he has to say.  
>PIT: HUH!? WHY?!  
>SHEIK: First off, I'm the leader so what I say goes.  
>PIT: You are?  
>SHEIK: Yes.  
>SHEIK: And secondly, what good will we be if we get deleted?  
>PIT: I... guess...

"If you're done whispering, I'll continue with my offer."

Sheik lowered her arms and Pit flung his bow onto his back. "Alright, we'll listen. For now." Sheik answered.

Dr. Mario gave a smile. "Good. I see you're not always as dense as they say, Sheik."

"No games." Sheik spoke firmly. "What's the offer?"

CONTINUE...?


	7. LOGIN 6

Disclaimer: I wish upon a star that they were mine. But I don't own them. Nope. It's a shameful thought to even think I did. (sad)

A/N: Since I haven't heard from ganon, that character at the end of chapter 11 still needs a name D: anyone wanna be them :O Anyway, thank you all for your reviews. -gives cookies- Just an FYI: The next chapter might be delayed a bit. I'm going... to Eygpt. If it never updates... I died in:

1) A plane crash  
2) A snake bit  
3) Locked into a tomb of a forgotten king.  
4) The "terrorist" got me.  
5) Other (Giant stone falling on me, discovered a portal back in time and became a slave, ect...)

And so I shall past my legacy on to me friend. :D  
But lets just hope none of that happens... yeah. :(

**Super Smash Brother: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #6: Deals with the Devil**

--

-Mushroom Kingdom-

"Alright, so explain yourself!"

The three party members had been warped out of the spooky area by Link's item and found themselves infront of the fountain in the middle of Mushroom Square. Link was sitting on the edge of the fountain, trying to avoid eye contact with Marth, while Marth himself was leaning over into Link's face. Jigglypuff stood over on the side, watching timidly, not too sure of what was going on.

"Erm, well..." Link rubbed the back of his neck, trying to search for the prefect answer to give. "It's hard to explain... But, you see, when a boss kills a party, it becomes a Wandering Monster. At that time, anyone could jump in and kill the monster, not just party members."

Marth whacked Link on the head. "You idiot! Thats not was I mean! That move you did... what was it? I may be new to this game, but I sure do know that damage shows up in numbers, not symbols."

Link's face quickly changed from nervous to panicy, as he waved his hands to try and silence the swordsman. "Shh! Not so loud." He glanced around to make sure none of the other players who were hanging around the fountain had heard. "Switch to party chat please."

A brieft pause and the group had done just that. "Okay. So tell me, what did you do?"

"It's hard to explain right now, Marth." Link said with a sigh. "But its a secret move only certain people can preform... There is no way of learning it in the game, unless you have the character required for it."

"So... your character can use it?" Link nodded. "And mine can't? ...How weird." Link looked down at the ground and mumbled something. "Hmm? Whats that?"

"I never said you couldn't..."

Marth looked stunned. "You mean, I could use such a powerful attack?"

"I... think you can. I also think..." He began to turn his face towards Jigglypuff, who was seen yelling, but no sound was coming from her mouth. "Um... does she know about party chat?"

Marth took off his party chat and suddenly was slapped with the loud screaming voice of Jigglypuff. "MARTH! LINK! WHY CAN'T I HEAR YOU!? HAVE YOU PUT ME ON INGORE! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY FOR-"

"Shut up." Marth muttered, crossing his arms and giving the pokemon a glare.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I just..."

"F4." Jigglypuff looked over at Link confused. "Hit F4 to enter party chat mode. It's a chat mode so that only the three of us could hear what each other is saying."

Shortly after saying that, the three switched to party chat mode. "Like this?" Jigglypuff asked.

"Yes, very good!" Link said with a smile.

Marth quickly changed the converstation. "So what did you mean, Link? Is there a way that I could use that move too?"

Link didn't answer at first, but then nodded slowly. "I'm pretty sure you should be able to use some sort of move like mine. What it is, or how you'll go about using it... I'm not sure. Or if you even have one, I might be wrong... but still..." He looked over at Jigglypuff, who quickly blushed and looked away in embrassesment. "...I wonder." He shook his head, stood up and smiled. "But enough of that! Marth! I'm very pleased to see you found such a good healer."

"Who? M-Me?" Jigglypuff asked timidly.

Link smiled and nodded. "Yup! This is great. We have a full party for this server. Let's head off to the area I wanted to power level you in, Marth!"

--

I watch as the Hylian turned and began to walk towards the portal. "Hey wait! I wasn't done!" I called out, watching Link pick up speed as he apporched the portal. "...Geez."

"Mister Link sure is a happy person..." I heard Jigglypuff muttered to herself. I couldn't help but share a little grin at this statement. So I wasn't the only one who noticed. Hehe. "Do you know where we are going, Marth?"

I made Marth shrug. "Not really." I answered. "But knowing him, it'll be some super high level area, where he'll have to do all the killing and we just stay in the background." Jigglypuff let out a light 'Oh' sound as I continued, "But you're lucky. Link will be relying on you to heal him so he doesn't die. Me on the other hand... I just stand in the back and look pretty."

"He's... He's relying on me?!" Judging by the tone of her voice, I quickly regret ever making that statement. But before I could retract my comment, my screen went black along with the words: Party Leader is selecting an area. Oh well... Whatever new area awaits us, I hope its not as scary as the other one.

--

-Bowser's Castle-

Sheik and Pit stood in a dark corridor, facing down one of the games strongest PKers, Dr. Mario. "No games." Sheik spoke firmly. "What's the offer?"

"Right to the point I see. Heh. Well... as of right now, you have two choices. One, you can continue on. I won't stop you." Dr. Mario took a step to the side and pointed into the darkness that was the hallway. "You might even make it to the chamber where Bowser keeps the Stone of the Void before he even reaches you. That's why you've come, is it not?" Neither answered. "Hehe... well, let me just tell you this. If you do choose this choice, and you do make it out of here with your characters in one piece, you will become the newest target of Bowser's attack force... The Warlocks."

Sheiks' eyes began to widen. "The Warlocks?" She asked, her voice still strong despite her obvious shock.

Dr. Mario nodded and Pit just rolled his eyes. "The Warlocks? Pssh, what kind of guild is that? Sounds like a bunch of nerds who haven't gotten a date in years."

The doctor gave a small growl and glared at the angel. "I'm afraid you're wrong there, my friend." He said calmly.

"The Warlocks is the name of Bowser's speical elite attack force." Sheik explained, cutting Dr. Mario off. "They are his top six hackers... some of the strongest players in the game. They are so infamous, that they are only behind Bowser in priority to the admins. Although they are just as deadly... and even harder to find then Bowser himself."

"Really?... You know, I never understood this. When we sign up for the game, we're required to give our real name, adresses and phone number." Pit said, folding his arms in confusion. "Why can't the admins just look up their data and stop them?"

Sheik continued, "Well... besides the fact that they hack their character data, they also hack their personal data. They give fake names and adresses, to keep themselves safe. But thats not all..." She paused to see if Dr. Mario was preparing to attack while she spoke.

"Don't look at me, I'm just watching..." He muttered, looking away, somewhat innocent.

"...its said that The Warlocks is such a secret guild, that memebers of the guild aren't allowed to know who the other members of the guild are. The only player who knows complete one hundred precent who The Warlocks are... is Bowser." Dr. Mario gave a little smirk at the end of Sheik's sentance. "It's a safty messure. Although Bowser supposdly trusts all of his Warlocks, he still doesn't want to take the risk of one of them betraying him. If that happens, he can send the other Warlocks after him or her and finish the traitor off without his or her knowing..."

That explination just brought more confusion on Pit's part. "Huh? If no one knows who they are... even the guild itself... how do we even know they exsist?"

"A while back, Bowser, or someone close to him, made a post with the birth of The Warlocks. It included six names." Sheik explained. "These names are, acording to the post, the nicknames of the five Warlocks. They were... The Wise Deciever, The Cunning Serpent, The Lonely Devil, The True Blade, The Deadly Maiden... and, well..." Sheik looked over at Dr. Mario, who's grin had grown to nearly the size of his face. "For more tangable proof, you can look infront of us. The sixth name was The Euthanasia Warrior... Dr. Mario."

Dr. Mario began to giggle as Pit's jaw dropped. "You mean that... he's one of them?" Sheik nodded. "But that would mean... we'd have six people as strong as Dr. Mario chasing after us?!"

"Pretty much..." Sheik balled her first. "Now, I can take that jerk over there no sweat. Maybe two of him. But six? We'd have a problem... And as far as I know, Dr. Mario isn't the strongest of the five."

"Now, hold on there." Dr. Mario butted in. "There is something you should know about The Warlocks. Our ranking is not based on levels, but on deeds. In the past, I have not fully been able to complete Lord Bowser's tasks, which earned me the postion I am in in. But, level wise, I must say I am near the top."

"Regardless... it's still a scary thought of having to pumel six Dr. Mario's into the ground..." Sheik whispered. "Whats the other choice?"

Dr. Mario gave a cackle and shrugged. "You leave." Pit and Sheik's faces filled with anger at the assassin, who just laughed again. "I'm sorry, but its really that simple. I'm giving you the choice to leave with your characters... or continue on and have your characters become deleted. I'm really being too nice, you know."

Pit gripped his bow. "What an ass..." He said to Sheik, who nodded in agreement. "So, what are we going to do? We didn't come all this way to get our characters deleted, did we?"

Sheik shook her head. "We didn't. But we also didn't come all this way to return to Zelda empty handed..."

"Well? What's your answer, my friends?"

Sheik smirked. "Here is your answer."

With that, Sheik jumped into the air, her arms folded across her body as the sound of needles clanking together filled the room. Dr. Mario stood there, his eyes and close and shaking his head as the woman came closer and closer to him in range. "Bad choice." He muttered just as Sheik flung her arms forward, sending a large amount of needles soaring towards the Doctor. He didn't move, but instead took out his white cape and flicked it about a few times, deflecting any of the needles that were about to hit him. Once all the needles finished firing at the doctor, he dropped his cape and smiled. "Was that it?"

Sheik charged at Dr. Mario once more. "I haven't even started yet!"

--

Link, Jigglypuff and I warped into a grass feild, with trees scattered across the landscape. This area, which I believed was called Donut Hills, was much like the first area that I had ever adventured in. It's grassy plain went on forever, and in the distant, a building could be seen. Beyond that building were rolling hills, each with their own set of eyes. The only major difference about this area was that, unlike the first which was set in day time, this feild was covered in an orange glow. It was a feild forever in twilight, the orange sun forever setting behind the mountains with eyes.

"Mis-Mister Link!" I heard Jigglypuff muttered. "Why are we on a level thirty field?"

I couldn't help but smirk at that. Covering the microphone, I let out a slight giggle and spoke to myself, "She reminds me of me. How scary."

--

"Don't worry!" Link said with a smile. "Just make sure to stay behind me and heal me as best you can, okay? This is called Power Leveling. Or PL in game terms. Its when I take a low level, like yourself, and kill high EXP monsters."

Jigglypuff shook her head. "I... don't really understand."

"You level up faster this way." Marth explained, stepping up. "So, Link, any chance of you needing my help in this area?"

Link smiled, then shook his head. "Not likely!" He chimed. "I'll need Jigglypuff's help more then anything though!"

Marth bit his lip after hearing Link's statement, then quickly looked over to Jigglypuff, whos gaze has turned downwards. "I don't think she needs the pressure." He muttered very softly to Link.

"What do you mean?" Link asked, tilting his head slighty. Marth sent Link a load of whispers, explaining the events that had taken place prior to the Hylian showing up at the battle. "I see... Well, just so you know, Jigglypuff, if I die, it's no big deal. Really. I haven't died in a while... I forget what happens when you do..."

"I'll be glad to show you!"

The group turned around to see another figure standing behind him. He was small, a hylian and wearing a green tunic - just as Link... infact... it looked EXCATLY like Link... only smaller and holding a wooden shield. Marth and Jigglypuff stared at this new boy with puzzled looks as Link just gave a sigh. "What are you doing here, Little Link?"

Character: Young Link  
Race: Hylian  
Level: 30  
Class: Swordsman/Archer  
HP: 200  
MP: 100

"It's YOUNG Link, first off." The boy exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Secondly, I came here to level up. I do have to get stronger then you, so I can destroy you in the upcoming PVP Tournament!" Young Link gritted his teeth and growled. "Just like how you destroyed me!"

"For someone who looks up to me, you sure do have alot of hostility..." Link muttered, looking away from the younger version of himself.

This statement seemed to send Young Link over the edge. "YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHY THE HELL I LOOK LIKE THIS!" He screamed, thrusting his fist up at Link's face. "It's YOUR fault I look like this!"

Link rolled his eyes. "I didn't tell you to delete your character..."

"SHUT UP! HMPH!" Young Link crossed his arms and looked away angrly. "Well, I don't know why the hell you and you're fan club are here, and neither do I care. But don't bother trying to level up here. I've been in this field for atleast an hour and a half and have yet to find a single monster. Some bullshit rumors about a rare monster in this field... how stupid!"

"No monsters?" Jigglypuff muttered.

Marth may have picked up on that intresting bit, if he wasn't so ticked off about being called Link's fan club. "Hey there, you little runt." He said, walking up to Young Link. "I don't know about you, but I'm not the one who's trying to look like a cosplay version of Link. If anyone here is in a fan club, its YOU."

Young Link snapped his head around and glared at Marth. "WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU NO GOOD TIARA WEARING PRISSY BOY!?"

Marth bent down and yelled right in Young Link's face. "YOU HEARD ME YOU LINK WANNABE!"

"GIRLY MAN!"

"COPY-CAT!"

"LIMP WRIST!"

"POSER!"

Slice.

Link sighed and withdrew his sword as he watched the damage he just inflicted be tallied. Marth's body fell to the ground with a thud and began to change into it's death stage. "Sorry about that..." Link muttered.

"MARTH!" Jigglypuff called out in horror.

"What a jerk..." Young Link huffed, turn away again. "You sure do pick the best friends, Link." Link gave a nervous laugh.

"Uh, anyway... Young Link, you do know that I stopped taking part in those PVP tournaments, right?"

"Hmph... Well, whatever you say. I'm out. Good luck with whatever you came here to do." And with that, Young Link's warp pipe came up and swallowed the boy, transporting him out of the field in an instant.

Link quickly bent down and revived the fallen Marth. "Ugh... Hey... What happened?" Marth muttered, standing up. "One second I was dissing that brat and then... bam. Did a monster get me?"

The Hylian didn't answer, but instead gave a nervous grin. Jigglypuff, being the good player she was, felt the need to tell Marth. "Link did it to you."

"He WHAT?!"

Link looked over at Jigglypuff with a worried expressing, sweat running down his face. "Jig-Jigglypuff..." He spoke worried, feeling the shadow of his friend approaching him from behind. "Erm... well..."

"So... Link..." Marth said, cracking his knuckles and taking out his saber. "Before I cut you down, may I ask why you did it?"

Link turned and faced Marth with his same dopey grin on his face. "Well... honestly, you were annoying!" He said with a laugh.

The sheer shock was enough to make Marth drop his sword. "Uh... Wow, okay?"

"It was just easier to PK you, since you're a lower level." He explained. Before Marth could make a comeback, he quickly turned and pointed off in the distance. "COME MY FRIENDS!" He shouted over dramatically. "Our goal awaits beyond the horizon!"

"Hey, wait, I'm not done with you!" Marth called out. But, once again, Link had charged off. "MAN! That guy can't sit still, can he?"

Jigglypuff was at a loss of words. "I... uh, are you sure you two are friends?" She whispered.

Marth smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. You can tell who your real friends are, since nine times out of ten, they're the biggest jerks to you in the world!"

"That... doesn't make much sense."

"HEY! Are you COMING?" Link shouted from a distant. The two other players looked at each other, smiled and ran after Link, ready for whatever danger awaited them on their adventure... if any.

--

-Bowser's Castle-

Sheik charged forward at Dr. Mario, charging up her needles for her next strike. She flung her arms forward and launched another wave of needles, which flew towards the doctor. But he didn't show any concern, as he simply jumped into the air and out of the way of the needles. Sheik skidded to stop and watched as he flew through the air. She turned around expecting to get him as he landed, but her face was met with one of his boot. The kick to the jaw sent the assassin onto the ground, dealing around 60 damage.

Dr. Mario landed and brushed off his coat. "Heh. Clos-" He had to cut his sentence short as he made a quick sidestep to the left, barely avoiding a beam of light that shot past him and smashed into the castle wall. "I almost forgot there were two of you..."

Pit gripped his bow and gave an angry glare at the warrior. "You better not forget about me!" He yelled, snapping his bow in two. But instead of breaking the bow, it turned into two daggers. Flapping his wings, Pit charged at Dr. Mario and began to wildly slash at the healer. But Dr. Mario's speed was much higher the Pits', and he was able to dodge almost ever slice given by the angel. The one or two slashes that did strike hit for damage well below normal.

Dr. Mario watched and waited for Pit to leave an opening, and when he saw it, Dr. Mario quickly acted. He elbowed Pit in the gut, causing his character to keel over. While Pit was grabbing his chest, Dr. Mario delivered a powerful upper cut to the archer, sending him flying into the air and bring his HP down to about half. His victory was short lived, as Dr. Mario had to quickly spin around and take out of his daggers to block Sheik, who had jumped at him with her fingers filled of her needles. "Eh..." Dr. Mario muttered, being pushed back slightly by Sheik's strength. "You've been leveling? No... must have used some strength bonus items."

"Shut up." Sheik hissed, pushing harder down on the knife protecting Dr. Mario. "I haven't been doing anything."

"I see. That must be why that even with two people..." Dr. Mario put all his strength into one great push, which not only send Sheik's needles soaring upward, but his own knife. While Sheik was in shock, Dr. Mario fell to the ground and did a round house kick, knocked the assassin to her feet. "...you still can't beat me."

Just as Sheik regained her balance, Dr. Mario disappeared in a flash of white. As he did, however, a beam of light shot right into Sheik's chest. "ARCK!" Sheik's character called out in pain as she flew backwards and took a decent amount of damage.

"Sheik!" Pit called out, worried. He was holding his bow in the position of having just fired an arrow. "I'm sorry! He dodged it!"

Sheik stood up and growled at Pit. But before she could say anything, she was kicked in the back by the healer and took a few points of damage. "Hahaha!" Cackled Dr. Mario. "You're really not doing too well today, Sheik."

"SHES NOT THE ONLY ONE YOU'RE FIGHTING!" Pit called out, pulling back on another energy arrow. But instead of a clear color, this arrow was glowing green. "MEDUSA'S ARROW!" He called out, sending the green arrow bolting across the room, at a higher speed then the others.

Dr. Mario saw the arrow soaring towards him and tried to dodge, but even with his high speed stats, he couldn't avoid the arrow. It struck his right arm and pushed him back a few feet. But not only did Dr. Mario take around 60 points of damage, but his right arm began to crackle and harden. Within a few seconds, his entire arm was stone. "My, my... condition causing arrows." He muttered. With his left hand, be brought his palm over to the stone, chanting a spell and a blue aura surrounded the arm. As it did, the stone disappeared and Dr. Mario's arm returned to normal. "You are truly one of the games bests archers. Shame you can hit anything to save your life."

Sheik jumped off the floor and swung her arm at Dr. Mario. It took him by surprise, but he was able to dodge, jumping into the air and disappearing. "Where did he go now!?" Sheik yelled, looking around the chamber.

There was a sound of two feet lightly hitting the stone. Sheik spun around to see Dr. Mario standing in between herself and Pit, laughing his head off. "You two... you guys really are pathetic, you know that, right? I haven't even started to fight yet and you guys are already getting nervous."

"Shut up!" Sheik yelled, charging forward.

"You heard her!" Pit screamed from the other side.

Sheik began to dash towards the healer but as she reached half way, she outreached her right hand. From her wrist shot out her linked chain, which flew towards Dr. Mario's stationary body. The chain was about to make direct contact with him when he simply jumped into the air and moved away.

"Damn..." Sheik muttered.

"Sheik!"

Upon seeing where her chain was heading, Sheik let out a gasp and grabbed the still extending chain, to try and stop it from hitting its current target. Pit, who was also charging at Dr. Mario, saw the chain flying towards him. He quickly lifted his bow and pushed it out forward, allowing the chain to hit and warp around the bow instead of himself. The two stood there for a few moments, Sheik pulling on her chain and Pit yanking on his bow, trying to get the other to let go. "Pit, just back down! You're only getting in my way!" Sheik yelled.

"Me? You've fought this guy tons of times and yet you STILL lose." Pit said back. "You obviously can't do it alone!"

The two were so busy glaring that they didn't even notice Dr. Mario falling from the ceiling with his dagger pointed downwards towards the chain. "Lover's quarrel." He spoke quietly as he thrusted his dagger through the chain, snapping it in two. The tension between Pit and Sheik was broken and the two began to fall backwards. But before they could hit the floor, Dr. Mario grabbed the two ends of the chain a pulled them towards him. Then with all of his strength, he crossed the chains and thrusted them in opposite directions. The result was quite funny, with Sheik and Pit, who were still connected to the chains, slamming face first into each other and falling to the ground with a thud.

"HahahahahaHA!" Dr. Mario cackled, taking a few steps back. "If only you two could see yourselves... oh wait, you can!" His laugh slowly died down as an evil smirk came across his face. "Now, lets finish this." Dr. Mario did one final jump into the air and took out his dagger once more. He did a flip in the air and his body began to glow yellow. Once the glowing stopped, Dr. Mario began to fall towards the earth at a alarming speed, his hands grasped around his dagger tightly. "DEATH FROM ABOVE!" He called out, approaching the two fallen warriors.

But there was a flash of white just as Dr. Mario reached the bodies and a large smoke screen shot up. "What the-" He shouted as he disappeared into the smoke. There was the sound of metal priecing flesh, but the smoke was so thick he couldn't see just what or who he had hit. All Dr. Mario knew was that he had made a direct hit.

As the smoke cleared, Dr. Mario saw that his dagger had make it's direct hit into Pit's left shoulder. Sheik was no where to be seen, obviously using the smoke screen as her means of escape. MAJOR HIT! 345 DAM! floated above the angel's body as his HP bar dropped. "Heh. Oh well, good enough I suppose." Dr. Mario said, standing up off the body.

Pit, who was not yet dead, tried to get up. But as he did, a yellow current of energy shot through his body, causing him to fall back to the floor. "Am I... Paralyzed?!" He shouted, trying to move his character to no avail. "DAMN IT!"

"Haha, I must have hit a nerve on that one." Dr. Mario cackled, lifting his dagger once more. "Oh well. I hope you enjoyed your time in Bowser's Castle."

The angel closed his eyes, expecting the final blow to come within seconds. And then he heard it. The sound of metal piercing flesh and a loud programed yelp of pain. But it wasn't from his character... "What the..."

Dr. Mario stood there, his body froze with the dagger still in his hand. From his chest, four needles stuck out. Behind him, Sheik was standing with her hands thrusted into the healer's body, obviously with a smirk on her face which was hidden beneither her armor. "Nice one, Sheik." Dr. Mario said weakly as the damage floated over his head. MAJOR HIT! It said. 600 DAM!

She withdrew her arms and dropped the useless needles, which disappeared before they could hit the ground. "Heh. Nice? Thats all you can say?" Sheik said, watching Dr. Mario's body fall to the ground.

But the healer wasn't dead yet. He crossed his arms across his chest and called, "Life Up Omega!" Within moments his HP returned to a safe color and he stood back up. "Hehe, you got me. Perhaps you're tougher then I though?" Shiek gave him an angry glare. "...So, my friend, how bout we make a new deal?"

--

The three made their way through the orange field very easily. Although they paused to look left and right once in a while, for the most part the field was as empty as Young Link had said. No monsters as far as they eye could see. But there wasn't another oddity about the level... there didn't seem to be any other players around, either. "Is it normal to get an area like this to yourself?" Jigglypuff asked, trying her best to keep up with the nimble swordsman infront of her.

"I don't think so..." Marth said, jogging alongside Link. He looked over to his Hylian friend in search of an answer.

Link shook his head. "No, not really."

Jigglypuff looked around confused. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why are we staying on this field if there is no reason to be here?"

Marth too wanted to know the answer to that question. Link never answered. He instead kept runnig and running, heading straight towards the building, which began to take the shape of a jail cell. "He knows something..." Marth spoke to himself. "Something is going down. It can't be luck that we wind up on such an empty field with no monsters, no players, find a Link wanna-be and are still heading for the Boss battle. This game is too weird for this all to be one big coincidence."

"What's that, Marth?"

Marth turned and smiled at Jigglypuff. "Nothing. Just talkin' to myself! Hehe."

The trio continued to run until they ran right up to the edge of the huge prison cell. There were about seven, large white bars keeping whatever beast behind the cage within it. Behind the bars, there was only darkness, and no beast could be seen awaiting. But the sounds of chains clanking and things growling gave hint to it being a big monster. Marth was about to charge in when he was stopped by Link's arm. "Wait." Link said, staring at the huge prison.

Marth took out his sword. "What's wrong?" He asked, ready to charge into battle.

A few moments past and Link had yet to give an answer. "As I thought." He finally said, walking closer to the cage. "This is the cage of the Chain Chomp boss. A powerful boss, but one who would burst from the cage and try to attack us after we got close enough. We're pretty much ontop of the cage... and it's not here."

"Well, that boy did say all the monsters were gone..." Jigglypuff said quietly.

"Yes, I know. Which is why I don't think it's here."

"But those sounds..." Marth quickly added.

"Just programmed into the game."

Link's gaze continued to stay upward, staring at the large white bars. Marth stared at the Hylian confused, then turned and looked into the darkness of the cage himself. To his surprise, he thought he saw a flash of purple. "What the..."

"Alright guys, how bout you two head back to town?" Link said, turning around with a smile on his face. "See, I'm gonna enter the cage thing to try and find if there is a monster in there. If you two enter, you won't even get past the first room if the boss's minions spawn." He gave a dopey laugh. "And what would be the point of trying to level you guys if you died!"

"Hey, WAIT! No, you're not running away!" Marth screamed.

Link smiled again. "Oh, but I am. Sorry! Just go back to town, kay?"

Before Marth or Jigglypuff could respond, Link cut and left the party. The two quickly shut off their party chat mode to hear Link's final parting words. "Isn't it time for bed yet? Go to sleep!" He commanded, running into the darkness, but not before waving one last time before his character vanished.

"Marth..." Jigglypuff spoke softly. "Are we going back to town?"

"Uh..."

--

I couldn't answer her yet. My mind was too busy trying to think of many different things. Trying to remember where I saw that purple flash from. Wondering why Link would suddenly rush off, even if he KNEW there were no monsters here. And alone, without the people who he came to power level? Infact... why did we even stay in the level in the first place? I had my own questions to answer, and just wasn't ready to answer Jigglypuff's yet.

"If you're not going... well, I am."

I felt my eyes widen in shock at Jigglypuff's remark. I turned Marth's face to look at the little pokemon and asked, "Are... Are you serious?" She nodded.

"Like you said, you can't help people by just running away. So, let's help Link!"

Wow. So she took my advice to heart? That's a shock. Although it made me feel good... with that statement, I shook away any confusion I had left in my head. She's right! No matter how weird this situation is, we should be focusing on helping Link. Besides, this game is weird enough as it is. How could I get any weird? Will we run into walking noses with red bows in their single strand of hair? Unlikely.

"Alright then!" I said, moving Marth towards the cage. "Let's go, Jigglypuff!"

I heard Jigglypuff give a sound of agreement as the two of us ran into the cage, not at all knowing what we were going to see...

--

Sheik showed no signs of backing down as Dr. Mario put his hands into his coat pocket. A few moments past and neither had said a word. Dr. Mario gave a confident smirk and shrugged. "Oh well? I guess you don't want to hear it?" He said turning away.

Pit, who was still frozen on the ground, began to whisper to Sheik.

>PIT: Heal me! DX  
>SHEIK: Shut up...  
>SHEIK: Can't you see I'm trying to think here?  
>PIT: GOSH, Just listen the crazy guy. We'd have him beat (if you'd help me up -.-) so don't worry bout it :D  
>SHEIK: ...-sigh-

"Hey, don't you walk away." Sheik said, taking a few steps towards Dr. Mario.

He gave an cocky smile, although Sheik couldn't see it with his back turned to her. Dr. Mario turned around and clapped his hands. "Haha. You really are a smart woman, huh? Or did Pit have to convince you?"

"Just tell me the deal before I harpoon you like a roasted pig again."

"Hehe. Here is the deal. You leave..."

Sheik quickly took out her needles again. "Not funny. Be serious, or else!"

Dr. Mario began to wave his hands with a slight look of panic on his face. "No, no! You didn't let me finish!" Sheik lowered her weapons, causing the healer to sigh. "Impatient girl. Now if I may... You leave... and you leave without the stone." He could tell Sheik was getting angry with this current deal, to which he couldn't help but smirk. "Hold on. But you're not leaving empty handed." Dr. Mario reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue stone. It floated a few inches above the palm of his hand as he held it up for Sheik to see. "We will hold onto the stone. But in exchange for you leaving, I will give you my GID."

"Why would she want that!" Pit screamed, trying to move his still paralyzed body.

"Because, dumbass, it's a way for me to keep in contact with her."

Sheik raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I got you attention now, I see. Well... Bowser hasn't been known for keeping his promises. With this stone, he promised me that I'd get my due reward once we figure out what the stone does." Dr. Mario put the stone away. "But alas, I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. So I doubt he'll keep me completely updated on the information on the stone. So here is where you come in. We exchanged GIDs... and keep each other informed about what the other side has learned about the stones."

"We'd never give information away to the likes of YOU!" Yelled the little angel.

"Shut it, Pit." Sheik brought her hand to her chin and began to ponder the situation. "...Well... I see where you're going at. We share information and work to a common goal... but what do we get out of it? I mean, we have no insurance that what you're telling us is true. And you're still holding onto the stone, so it defeats the purpose..."

Dr. Mario giggled. "You don't really think I'd let that big oof in the other room get all the power, right? When our hackers find out what makes this rock tick... I'm going to steal it."

"So you could take the power, correct?"

"Yes... But afterwards, you'd get the stone."

Sheik growled. "Thats just as bad as Bowser getting the power."

Before Dr. Mario could reply, the echo of people marching and shouting could be heard in the distance. The healer turned around and noticed that there was a shadowy mass heading down the hallway, still very far away though. "Look, we don't have much time." He said, turning back to Sheik. "Do we exchange GIDs and exchange information or will you fight off Bowser's army of hackers? I'll even throw in a free pass to get into Bowser's Castle whenever you need too. Deal?" The doors of the castle began to creep open as Dr. Mario face took a pleading look.

A pop-up asking Sheik if she would exchange Gamer IDs with Dr. Mario appeared. However, the assassin looked very reluctant to accept. "Working with my worst enemy..." She muttered as the marching grew louder. "...That's something I wouldn't expect." She said as she accepted the GID.

Dr. Mario gave a smile. "Good, good! Now, you and Pit get out of here before his cronies show up. I'll be in contact with you later." Dr. Mario bent down and cured Pit of his paralizesis.

Pit stood up and punched Dr. Mario on the head. "Hmph!" He stormed out of the castle, his arms crossed.

"You're welcome..." Dr. Mario muttered, rubbing his head.

"There has got to be some other reason you're doing this." Sheik said as she began to walk towards the door.

"There is." Dr. Mario confessed with a grin. "I'm the only person who can destroy your character data. Not these lowly hackers. So, wait till that day to get your data corrupted, okay?" Sheik didn't have the time to respond, as the army of Bowser's minions was nearly ontop of her. She simply nodded to Dr. Mario, picked up speed and dashed out the front doors of the castle, having them slam shut behind her. "And thats that."

Dr. Mario said, vanishing into the darkness with a flash of white just as the army arrived at the scene, followed by a large amount of "'Where did they go" from the troops.

--

Link ran through the dark hall by himself, his sword and shield at the ready. Dashing around corners and nearly tripping down a few flights of stairs, the hylian slowly made his way down, deeper into the earth, searching for the final room in the dungeon. "I hope its near..." He muttered, rushing along.

At long last, he came to a flight of stairs which lead downwards. At the end of the stairs was an opening, to what Link thought was the final room. But unlike the rest of the tunnels, which were pitch black, there was an eerie purple glow emitting from the room. It seemed to flicker between brighter and darker at random times. "Finally!" He smiled, beginning to descend the stairs.

Link entered the room, showing no signs of fear. The room was very plain, no windows, not lights, no nothing. Just three walls, a ceiling and a floor. But there was one thing out of place in this room - a giant floating circle with an off-centered cross marking in the middle. "Is this the right place?" Link asked no one, taking a few steps closer to the rift. He walked right up to the mysterious circle and was captivated by it's glow. "Wow... it's really very pretty."

The swordsman began to lift his hand towards the rift. But just as Link was about to touch it, the sound of static shot through the room and the rift began to fluctuate. Link jumped back, lifted his sword and readied his shield. The rift began to corrupt the area around it, causing ones and zeros to appear and the texture of the game to peel back into nothing by black and white snow. "So Zelda was right..." Link said, taking a step back. "This area is part of the 'Event'!"

The purple light began to shine brighter and brighter as a creature began to emerge from the rift. Link had no idea what creature await him, or what danger he was about to race. But still, the hylian stood strong, his sword ready to chop down anything that came from the rift. And with a smile on, he said, "Well then, let's get this battle started!"

CONTINUE... ?


	8. LOGIN 7

Disclaimer: Got none... so lets go with a...

Harry Potter Spoiler! YEY :D! READ BELOW WITH CATION

...  
...  
...

SNAPE KILLS DUMBELDORE D:!!! OMGZ!

A/N: Okay! I survived Egypt! It was hot. And now, in 80 degree weather, I wear a jacket. I didn't crash in a plane, no getting warpped back in time, no "terrorist /rightwing got me, and I didn't happen to fall into a pit of lava while exploring the mummies tomb thing. So yey :) I'm alive... for now o-o

Personally, I believe this is my worst chapter so far. The reason being: it was never suppose to exsist. The whole fight scene was suppose to fill up the ending of the last chapter. But It seemed to get too long for my tastes. Anything else you see in the story is an add-on made just for this chapter. If it comes off a little rushed, or confusing, or whatever - it's because this wasn't suppose to be a chapter. Oh well :D

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #7: Questions and Theories**

--

-Donut Hills-

Marth and Jigglypuff raced down the seemingly endless flights of stairs, in a desperate attempt to make it to the bottom and find their friend Link. "Marth... There are no monsters in here, either." Jigglypuff pointed out as the two continued to run.

"No duh." Marth replied as he turned a corner... and slamming into a wall. "Oof!" Went his character as Marth fell to the ground.

"Marth!" Jigglypuff cried, running to his side. "Are you okay?"

"Did my HP Bar go down?"

"No..."

"Then I guess I'm okay?"

Jigglypuff let out a light gasp and she looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry... I sometimes forget that this is a game."

"No biggie." Marth replied, standing up. He placed his hand on the stone wall he had just run into and frowned. "Looks like we went the wrong way, Jigglypuff. We better head back."

The two retraced their steps and found themselves running around in circles once more. "This is very confusing..." Jigglypuff muttered as the two ran into another dead end. "Maybe this is why Link asked us not to come in here."

"I don't think so..." Marth said as he headed down a new path. "I think the reason is..." He trailed off, thinking back to the weird event that he and Daisy had encountered back in Lava River. "Could it be something like that?..."

"Something like what, Marth?" Jigglypuff asked.

To her question, Marth shook his head. "Nothing. Let's hurry!"

Meanwhile, Link was standing in the purple chamber, his sword and shield at the ready. The rift he was facing slowly began to open, and a creature was beginning to crawl through. The Hylian let out a gasp once the figure complete emerged from the rift. "Oh my..." Link took a few steps closer. "Aren't you just the cutest thing ever!"

It's face and body appeared to look much like the monster Marth and Daisy had first encountered - a bunch of purple wires. Except this one only reached to about the height of Link's boot. It was a small little one, with pointed ears and a small tail. It's face was covered by the same symbol, and when Link placed his mouse of the monster it read: 'WirFra./PICU.

The little beast didn't find Link's comment flattering, as it jumped and rammed the approaching Link right in the chest with a headbutt. The blow sent the Hylian tripping backwards in recoil. "Ahaha!" He laughed. "What a nice attack little guy!"

WirFra./PICU didn't answer of course. It simply held out its arms and let out a light growl, as a bolt of lightening came crashing through the roof and slamming into the ground behind him. Link gasped in shock at the power of the Thunderbolt, but then couldn't help but smirk. "Hah... Why is it the cute ones are always the strongest fighters?" And with that, Link charged at the monster.

As he reached attack range, his swung his sword at the beast. But the monster simply rolled up the sword swipe and moved in close to Link. Link didn't have time to react to the monster's approach, so he was unprepared when the little wired monster jumped up wards, slamming its head right into Link's chin. Link stumbled back and took a few points of damage, but he quickly recovered himself and ran back in for another attack. After Link's swipe this time, WireFra./PICU didn't move closer, but instead moved backwards. Link swung at it again... and it moved back again. This pattern continued until Link had cornered the little monster against the wall.

"No where for you to run now." He spoke, lifting the sword above his head. Just as he was about to bring the blade down, however, the monster disappeared in a flash of light. "What the-"

Little did Link know, but the monster appeared in a flash behind him. It went down on all fours and let out a cry that sounded like, 'PIEKU!'. Link turned around at the sound and was zapped with a thunder jolt. The Hylian stumbled back and hit the wall, taking a total of 50 Damage.

"Oof!" Link's character cried as he slide downwards. After a few seconds, Link jumped back to his feet and pointed his sword at the wired monster. The beast let out a high pitched hiss, and disappeared in a flash of light once more. "Hehe. This is going to be fun."

--

Dr. Mario appeared in a flash of light on the outside of a large circular building, behind Bowser's main castle. Ontop of the building, six towers shot into the dark sky, thunder cackling about them. He entered the chamber and walked over to six hooks. All but one of the hooks was empty. The one that was still in use held a long, black cloak with the number four upon the hood. Dr. Mario reached up and threw the cloak over him, covering himself from head to toe.

Any player seeing the cloaked healer would have a hard time guessing just who it was. After adoring his cloak, Dr. Mario began to march down the hallway, his footsteps echoing eerily through out. The hallway was long and plain, with the only light coming from a exit a bit away. As he approached the doorway, he came to a stop noticing that there was another person standing in his path between himself and the exit. The figure was also wearing a long, black cloak and hood, giving no details of who he or she may be. The only real detail was the fact that there was a large number two on his hood and that this figure was slightly bigger then Dr. Mario It's shape could lead one to believe it was a Hylian or Human. "...What do you what, Blade?" Dr. Mario hissed, his speed picking up once more.

"Hey, hey! Thats no way to treat you're friend!" Spoke the figure in a cheerful male voice. "I've been waiting here for you so that you didn't have to walk into the meeting all alone and get your ass chewed out by Lord Bowser."

Dr. Mario walked right past Blade and continued to walk towards the exit. "Lord Bowser knows better then to do that. I'm too precious to him."

Blade dashed a bit to catch up to Dr. Mario. "Oh, get off your high-horse Euthanasia! You know that he wouldn't think twice about deleting you. Or any of us, at that matter."

"Heh... What was the last thing YOU did for Lord Bowser?" Blade paused for a bit and thought, but after a few seconds, he shrugged and continued to follow Dr. Mario. "I recently delivered him a very, very important item. So I doubt me being late will have any impact on his feelings towards me."

"If you say so." Blade answered with a little laugh. "Oh, by the way, Deceiver won't be joining us tonight. I heard he was sick or something. But then again, who knows! He didn't get that name for nothing, after all!"

Dr. Mario rolled his eyes, although it couldn't be seen under the thick hood. "You're in a happy mood today."

"Yup! I heard from Devil that we might finally be getting an official assignment to do! It's really exciting!"

The two cloaked players wandered into a large room. The only light was coming from a long pillar of purple light in the center of the room. Within the purple light there was a large throne, in which Bowser himself was sitting in. Around the throne were six other chairs. Three of those chairs, the third, the fifth and the sixth where filled with another cloaked figure. "You two are late!" Boomed Bowser as the two walked to their seats.

"Hehe, sorry!" Blade apologized, sitting down in the second chair. "I got caught up trying to find a good weapon for my Buffer. You know I like my items legit."

Bowser turned and looked at Dr. Mario, who simply shrugged. "I was busy."

"...Hmph." Bowser muttered. "Regardless, it's nice to see that five of my Warlocks have gathered. I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you all here..."

"Not really..." Came a bored voice from the third seat. The small, round figure was cloaked much like the others with only two differences - his's head could only reach up to Dr. Mario's waste, and there was a large number three on his hood.

"Silence Devil!" Boomed their Leader. "That was a rhetorical question!"

"Was it?" Came a female voice from the fifth seat. She was cloaked from head to toe like the others. On her hood, the large number five was painted. Her slim figure could only point to her being a graceful Hylian. "I thought a rhetorical question would be... 'Do pigs fly?'... or something along those lines."

Bowser slammed his fist down on his throne. "DOES IT REALLY MATTER?!"

She nodded. "I'd rather not be in a guild where my leader isn't literate."

"What does me littering have to do with rhetorical questions?!" The five Warlocks couldn't help but giggle. "ENOUGH!" Bowser slammed both his fists onto his throne, causing two large pillars of fire to burst out from behind him. The five figures stopped laughing and began to pay attention. "Before I go on, is there anyone here who does not know about the 'Event'. If there is, I'll explain it."

Not one of the Warlocks spoke up.

"Good. Recently, one of our Warlocks came into the possession of a very rare item." Bowser very quickly glanced at Dr. Mario, but looked away soon after. "It was called, 'The Stone of the Void.'"

There were a few 'Ooh's in the group after hearing the name of the stone. "Isn't that the stone used in the 'Event'?" Asked the fifth warlock, to which Bowser nodded. "I remember reading a post on the forums about someone finding a stone called that. I figured they were just trying to scam someone."

"No, it was real, Maiden." Bowser answered. "So real, to the fact that we just recently had players break into this realm to try and steal it. Luckily, my troops took care of them."

"Your troops didn't even show up till they had been finished off." Dr. Mario spoke up. "I went there to stop them from entering. By the time your troops arrived, they were dead and on they're way back to where they last saved."

Bowser raised an eyebrow. "Really, Euthanasia? May I ask who it was?"

Dr. Mario was hesitant to tell. But after a few moments of fighting with himself, he figured that since he was never truly going to keep his side of the deal, he would tell. "Sheik and Pit... of Zelda's guild, SSBM."

"I see..." Bowser said, stroking his chin. "I see. But regardless, we shall deal with that later. Back to the topic on hand. As we speak, my best technical hackers are working on finding out where this stone was made and who made it. But as of right now, I believe it has some connection with the 'Corrupters'."

"Aren't those the 'Broken Characters'?" Asked the sixth warlock. His body proportions were about the same size as Blade, just slightly taller. On his hood was the number six.

Bowser nodded. "Yes. Call them what you will, but I believe that they are not 'Broken'. They are instead, characters - or AI, rather, who have the power to delete anything and anyone."

"But what do they have to do with the 'Event'?" Asked the warlock in the third chair.

Bowser began to explain what had happened by hacking into the game's logs. He explained what Daisy and Marth had faced, how the 'Broken Character' arrived there and how with the death of the wired beast brought about the creation of the stone. "...So, what I am thinking is, these wired monsters, which I call 'Wire Frames', are part of the 'event', as the death of one brought about the creation of that stone. And where ever these Wire Frames show up, a 'Corrupter' shows up, as well."

"And you're point?" Asked Dr. Mario.

"What my point is... we all want the power that the Corrupters hold, correct?"

The power that Bowser was talking about - it was absolute deletion. No matter how good the hacker was in Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE, you could not delete a character. It was too well protected. The same goes for other areas of the computer world - there is always something that even the greatest hacker can not break. However, the 'Broken Characters' go against that rule. As far as anyone, gamer, hacker, or programmer could see, these characters had the power to delete anything at all. This was the power that Bowser was searching after.

"My theory is..." Bowser began to explain. "If we can find these Wire Frames, we can find the 'Corrupters'. If we can find them... we might be able to capture one and exploit it's data. You know, learn how it does the things it does. And learn how it can delete anything."

Blade rose his hand. "But what about the 'Event'? Aren't they tied in with it? Wouldn't taking the character mess it up?"

"Who cares! The 'event' is not important! The only reason any of you should keep that 'event' in mind, is just in case you find any more items that are mentioned in it." The Koopa shrugged. "Although I am as amazing as they come, you must understand... I do not know if we'll be able to catch these 'Corrupters'. So to cover all the bases, we should collect any of those items. Perhaps when we gather them all, we can complete the 'event', find out what makes those things and exploit it for ourselves."

The Maiden gave a shrug. "I don't quite understand..."

Bowser sighed. "Alright, here is what I want you guys to do. Devil, Maiden, Blade. I want you three to go to various locations I tell you. These locations are prime spots of where these Wireframes may show up. Currently, five wireframes have been found. Only one has been destroy, however. I will send you the location via the forums later tonight. Serpent and Euthanasia, I want you two to keep your eyes on Zelda's guild."

"Why?" Hissed the Serpent. "They're nothing to us. It seems foolish to even pay them any mind."

"But you see, Serpent, they too are after the 'Event'. It would be very troublesome if they keep sticking their noses in where it does not belong." The hacker stood from his throne. "Do what you will to them. Just make sure they do not meddle with us."

The five Warlocks stood and bowed. "So, Lord Bowser..." Began Maiden, crossing her arms. "Once you get that power, you're still going to share with us, right?"

"Of course. What good is a reward if you can not share it with the people you work with?" He said with an evil "Bwahaha!" following.

"Heh. And once he does, there will be no one that could stand in our way!" Blade said, thrusting his fist into the air.

Maiden gave out a giggle. "Yes, yes! We will be the best hackers in the entire game!"

"You mean, 'even better hackers'." Devil corrected. "We already are the best."

The group shared a collective laugh as Bowser boomed, "Warlocks, DISMISSED!" After his announcement there were five flashes of white light. The Warlocks had logged off. Once he was left alone, Bowser couldn't help but chuckle. "My, my, my... they really are children." He said, giving a smirk. "What fools. They simply believe this power only contains to this game, don't they?" Bowser's eyes grew wide as he began to dream about what he could do with that talent. "The power of absolute deletion... not only would I be able to destroy this game... but... hack into so many more things. The bountiful world of the Internet... all of it's knowledge... Security Vaults... Banking Records... Even hack into national defense computers... without anyone noticing until its too late... it will all be at my very finger tips!"

The mad player gave another laugh. "BWAHA! This internet, all this information... this world - not just this pathetic game - will soon be MINE!"

--

-Donut Hills-

"Is that it?"

Marth looked over to see Jigglypuff pointing down a long flight of stairs. "The exit?" Marth asked, running over to his friend.

She nodded. "Yes. Look."

From the exit there was the same eerie purple glow emitting. But there was also something else... two shadows constantly moving back and forth. Marth leaned a little closer and tried to listen in. "Could that be..."

"YAAAA!"

Marth jumped after hearing that scream. "Thats him! Link's down there! Jigglypuff, lets go."

The two ran down the stairs and were about to enter the room until Marth saw what one of the two figures was. His eyes wided and he remembered back to the time he and Daisy had encountered a similar foe. He grabbed onto Jigglypuff before the little mage could run into the room, causing her to look up at him. "What's wrong? It's Link! We need to help him!" She said.

Indeed one of the two figures was Link. He was standing in the middle of the room, his back turned to the two. But on his side was his challenger, the small, wired beast. WirFra./PICU was what this one was called. In that moment, Marth was trying to think of a good reason to stop the pokemon from charging into battle. After a moment he answered, "We can't beat that thing..."

Link stood in the center of the room, his eyes focused on the wired monster at his left side. The Hylian began to very slowly turn to face the monster, but as soon as he moved his avatar, it disappeared in a flash of light. "Here we go!" Link readied his shield for an attacked. As he did, the monster came crashing towards him at top speed, slamming head first into his shield. 20 DAM! Appeared above its head as the small creature fell to the ground. Link too this chance to bring his blade down upon the monster, striking it for a good deal worth of damage.

But the mouse-looking creature wasn't done just yet. After Link removed his sword from it's body, it disappeared in a flash of light once more. Link lifted his shield once more, expecting the monster to slam head first into his shield. But instead, the glitch appeared behind the Hylian. It spun around, using it's tail to knock the swordsman off balance. "What!?" Link called out as his avatar began to fall.

As Link fell, WirFra./PICU jumped into the air and over the falling figure. As Link slammed onto the floor, the monster landed onto his chest. It dug it's claws into the Hylian, dealing about 2 damage. But then came the real attack. It let out the scream 'PIEKU' once more, causing a very powerful thunderbolt to come from the sky and strike the two of them. Link's character screamed in pain as the two of them took around 200 Points of damage.

"LINK!" Marth and Jigglypuff called out at once. Marth ran his mouse over Link, who was currently not in the party, and saw that his HP bar had fallen to a light red. "Oh, no!"

"Marth, we need to heal him!" Jigglypuff said, lifting her staff. "He could die!"

Marth couldn't answer. He was too confused. "This monster... is it just like the other one?"

"MARTH!"

Jigglypuff's scream shook Marth out of his trance. "Wha? Oh... No, Jigglypuff. It's too dangerous..." Jigglypuff's sadden look worried Marth, but it was better then risking her running into battle and becoming another victim of the beast.

Link pushed the small creature off him and stood up. His avatar turned to run, but due to all the damage, he's speed had suffered greatly. So instead of running away, he took out one of his Maximum Tomatoes, healing about half of his HP bar. "Damn, thats not enough..." He muttered, reaching for another one.

But the monster wasn't planning on waiting for him to finish his healing. It began to scamper across the floor of the dungeon, heading in Link's direction. As it reached attack range, it jumped into the air and did a somersault, preparing to strike the swordsman in the back with its tail. Luckily for him, however, the Hylian saw the approaching beast and managed to turn around and lift his shield at the last moment. There was a flash of light as the monster's tail collided with the shield.

Once the light settled, Link pushed his shield forward, also pushing the little mouse back with it. As the mouse landed, Link too this chance to go on the offensive. He swung his sword at the monster, dealing a good 40 damage. The monster took a step back as Link pushed forward. He slashed at the beast again, but this time it dodge and began to retreat once more. Soon the speed between the two picked up. Link was wildly slashing his sword left and right, chasing the dodging monster backwards towards the right side of the room.

Just as they reached the end, Link thrust his saber forward, narrowly missing the wired monster, who had disappeared in a flash of light at the time of the thrust. But by now, Link had expected this move from the monster. Link's sword began to glow as he called out, "YAAAA!". His avatar began to spin around in a circle, slicing anything and anyone who was near by. And just his luck, the monster had reappeared right behind Link at the wrong time - taking a direct hit from Link's spinning blade. WirFra./PICU took around 110 Damage from that attack itself, knocking it back towards the other side of the room.

Marth was watching the battle with a surprised look upon his face. "No way!" He said, looking on in awe. "Why... Why couldn't she hurt it, but Link and I can? Is it a different class of monster, maybe?"

Jigglypuff looked up at Marth again. "Who couldn't hurt what? Marth, you're confusing me..."

"UGH!"

The two looked back towards the battle just in time to see Link get hit dead on with a small thunder jolt. Although he only took 53 damage, Link dropped his sword and shield and fell to the ground with a thud. "What now!?" Jigglypuff cried out.

Link's body began to pulsate a yellow ring. "Nononononononono!" Link cried out. "WHY DID I HAVE TO GET PARALYZED NOW!!!"

Marth and Jigglypuff gasped in shock after hearing what happened. "Marth, we need to help him now!" Jigglypuff said, lifting her staff once more.

"I... I..." Marth was still too confused to think straight. But its in those times that true hero's are born. "Yes!" He cried, taking out his sword and running into the room. "Heal Link! I'll take that thing!"

"Got it!" Jigglypuff said, bouncing off towards the fallen Hylian.

WirFra./PICU began to close in on the helpless Link. It gave a motion that seemed to be it laughing, although no sound came out of it's mouth. Link watched helpless as the monster kicked his sword and shield to the side and slowly close in on him. "Damn it..." He muttered. "So close..." But just as it seemed lost, Marth ran up and slide in between the remaining space there was between the fallen elf and his opponent. "M...Marth?"

"Hang on, Link!" He heard Jigglypuff cry. "Life Up Alpha!"

"Jigglypuff? Didn't I tell you two to leave!?"

Marth smiled. "I've been told alot of things. But if you haven't notice, I rarely listen."

"How do I cure your paralysis?" Jigglypuff asked, leaning down by Link's face.

"At you're level, you can't..." Link explain. "And at your level, Marth, you can't fight that thing!"

Marth didn't answer. He gripped his sword's hilt tighter and prepared for the monsters first move. However, instead of running forward, the beast hopped backwards a bit and lifted its small fists. "Want me to make the first move? Alright then." Marth charged forward, his sword readied to strike. But the blade was never meant to meet with the mysterious monsters body, as a gray rift opened up in the middle of the charging swordsman and the wired monster.

"What the?!"

"Um, thats not normal, right?!"

"Is that...?"

From the gray rift came a paper-looking man, much like the one Daisy had described during their last encounter. It fell from the void and looked around the room by facing all different ways. "What kind of monster is that?" Marth asked Link, taking a step back. "It's completely 2D!"

"Thats not a monster..." Link explained. "That's a 'Broken Character'..."

"A what?" Marth didn't know what Link had meant, but figured he'd have to ask more of it later. The newly introduced 'Broken Character' was walking right towards the wired monster. As it moved, it let out an 'beeping' noise as it approached the foe, who was busy backing up towards the wall. WirFra./PICU coiled down on the floor and let out a cry PIEKU as it sent another jolt of thunder heading towards the new person. The mysterious figure, however, was too thin for the attack, and it sailed right past him and slammed into the waiting Marth.

"YAAAAARGH!" Screamed Marth as his character took around 130 damage - only slightly less then his total HP at 150. Marth fell to the ground, smoke raising up from his charred body. "Figures..." He muttered.

"Life Up Alpha!" Jigglypuff called out shortly after Marth's damage.

The Broken Character took a few more steps closer to WirFra./PICU. As it did, it lifted a bell from its side and held it above it's head. The monster growled as it brought the bell crashing down onto it's forehead, causing a bright white light to fill the entire room. "What's going on!?" Jigglypuff and Marth called in unison as their screen went completely white.

--

I shielded my eyes from the exceeding bright light. "ACK!" I couldn't help but yell. The light was as powerful as if I had just stared into the sun. After the light reached it's peak of brightness, a loud vacuum sound shot out through my speakers. The vacuum continued for all but a few moments and as it stopped, the bright light disappeared, returning my screen to the normal.

"Link? Jigglypuff?" I asked, not yet bringing my hands down from my face. "Are you two there?"

"Is that you, Marth?" I heard Jigglypuff's small voice call out. "My screen... I think it broke... for a second, anyway."

"I'm here, Marth." That was Link. Good, the two seemed fine...

Slowly I lowered my hands and took hold of my controller. Glancing around the room, I noticed the paper looking player had gone missing. However, I saw that the wired monster remained. It was standing there, motionless, staring into space. "It's still there?!" I called out, pushing up on my control pad. Marth charged forward at the beast and swung his sword across it's torso.

--

"PIEKU!" It called out on last time. The slash mark Marth had dealt grew larger and larger, until it consumed the entire monster and it disappeared into little square pieces of data, blowing away in the simulated wind.

Marth stared at the empty spot in shock. "Uh... wow? It's dead?"

The following answer was a few grumbles from Link as he stood up and walked over to his weapons. "Finally... I hate getting paralyzed." He said, picking up his sword and shield.

"Um, excuse me..." Jigglypuff said quietly. "I know this might be a bad time but... what type of monster was that? It's name... it looked more like a computer file then a monster I've seen."

Marth was watching Link walk over to him. "Link... I've got more questions, my dear..."

The Hylian didn't answer as he approached. He simply pointed back towards where the monster had just been standing. "Look. You're the MVP again, Marth!"

The blue haired swordsman turned around and saw a large chest sitting in the place where the monster had just been killed just as the words began to flash across the screen announcing him as the MVP. "Oh." He walked over to the chest and flung it open. Two orbs of light shot out and struck himself and Jigglypuff.

>You've found #1nX03S$ !

"What the!?" Marth shouted after seeing his item. "What kind of prize is that?"

Jigglypuff seemed to get a similarly strange gift. "This treasure... it's made up of numbers, symbols and letters..."

Link looked glanced between the two with a worried expression. "What do you mean? Let me see."

"Here..." Marth opened a trade window with Link and he put up the odd item for trade. "I may not have been playing for so long, but I don't think there are any type of items called that, are there Link?"

The Hylian shook his head. "Not that I know of... Marth, let me borrow the item. I know someone who will want to take a look at it."

--

This sounds all to familiar I thought as Link accepted my trade. "What if I don't WANT to, hmmm?" I answered, making Marth cross his arms in a huff.

Link shrugged. "I might answer your questions if I can borrow it?" He replied with a smirk.

"You should answer them regardless..." I muttered. Link gave another one of his laughs. What a happy elf...

--

"You can have mine, if you want." Jigglypuff offered, walking up to the Hylian. "I owe you for saving us back against that Boo and killing the monster so I could get my item. So here, please, this is the least I could do."

Link canceled his trade with Marth, causing the blue haired swordsman to get upset. "Hey!"

"Why thank you Jigglypuff!" Link said, patting the pokemon on her head. "Atleast someone here is kind enough to help lil ol' Link out once in a while. Here's my GID. I'll remember that the next time you need help."

A moment past and the two apparently had finished trading items. "You're welcome..." Jigglypuff said softly, looking away as a blush crossed her face.

Link stood up and laughed. "Well, that sure was fun!" He gave a quick yawn. "I don't know about you two, but I sure am beat. I'm gonna head off for the night! It's been real fun!"

"Hold it."

"Yes, what is-" Link turned around to face Marth, but his sentence was cut off by coming face to face with the point of Marth's sword. The Human was pointing his blade directly at the Hylian's face, with a look that demanded answers to questions. Link closed his eyes and gave a giggle. "You don't really think you can hurt me, do you?" He said with his grin.

"Not really." Marth took a step closer, forcing Link to take a step back. "I just want some answers. I've got alot of questions. And you always run away from answering. So how about we answer some of them, okay?"

Link's happy face turned to one of hurt. "Marth, I'm surprised at you! All you had to do was ask me. There was no need to get so violent."

"First question." Marth said, withdrawing his sword. "How were you able to attack that monster? It looked and acted just like the other one that I encountered... and according to my friend, I was the only person out of hundreds that was able to land a blow on it. Does it have something to do with that super move you used a while back?"

Link didn't answer. "Uh... What are your other questions?" He asked with a smile.

"Why do these wired things leave such weird items. Is this an event? I don't think so."

"...Next?"

"Is this the reason you brought us to this area? Or was it by chance that we just found ourselves on this level."

"Uh... sorry, the next one please."

Marth began to grow frustrated. "Why don't you just answer my questions!"

Link looked down at the ground and sighed. "To be honest, Marth... most of those questions I don't have an answer too." Marth stared at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Remember in my mail I mentioned a person who wants to meet with you?" He nodded. "Well... she's the one you should ask these questions. I don't fully understand this whole thing, myself... so it would be better to get it from here, then someone who isn't completely sure on the matter."

"When can I talk to her?" Marth asked.

"When you reach level ten. You need to be level ten to move onto the Hyrule Server, which is where she spends most of her time. But hey, you're almost there! A few more kills and you'll be ten before you know it. But until then... I'm no help! So, my friends, I shall be off for the night. I'm sorry we didn't get to much power leveling. Maybe next time!"

"Hold on! Thats not the answer I want!" Marth called out. But it was too late. Link had already taken out his warp pipe and disappeared down the green tube, returning back to the Mushroom Kingdom. "ARGH! AGAIN!"

--

I was at the point where I was about to throw my controller at the screen in frustration. Why did he keep doing that!? ARGH! "Maybe he really didn't know the answers, Marth..." I heard Jigglypuff mutter.

"PSSH! Yeah right! And somewhere right now, someone is plotting to take over the world!" I snapped back, making Marth place his hands on his hips. Quickly after saying that comment I noticed that I could have picked a better one.

"...Someone most likely is, Marth. Try again, maybe?" Jigglypuff said with a giggle.

"Yeah, and pigs fly!" There we go.

"There we go!"

I typed in a /sigh as Marth looked around the empty room. "I guess there isn't much for us to do here anymore, huh Jigglypuff?"

She shook her head. "So, do you want to... Oh! Oh no!"

"Jigglypuff? What's wrong?!"

"The time!" She said as she began to panic. "It's very, very late! I have an orientation tomorrow for highschool! Ooooh, I'm sorry Marth, but I think I should go to bed!"

Glancing over at the clock by my bed I nearly fell out of my chair in shock upon seeing what time it was. "Four... FOUR IN THE MORNING!?" I screamed, shocking the little mage. How did THAT happen!? "Oh no! Ugh! It's very late! We better log off, then."

--

Jigglypuff nodded. "Um... I take out the Warp Pipe item, right?"

"Yup!" Marth said with a grin.

The two took out their own sperate warp pipes and disbanded the party. As they were about to head down the pipe, Jigglypuff asked, "Say, Marth... will we ever see each other again?"

Marth looked over at the pokemon in surprise. "Of course! Oh, did I ever send you my Gamer ID? Here, in case I didn't..." The two quickly exchanged their GIDs and were about to warp back to town. "We can play again tomorrow, if you want."

"Really?!" Jigglypuff's eyes lit up like stars. "That would be so awesome! I... I had a real fun time playing with you today, Marth. I'm sorry if I dragged you down at any time... but it still was very, very fun."

Marth smiled and gave a thumbs up to the little pokemon. "Trust me, you never did. And yeah. It was fun. And we'll have even more fun tomorrow, okay?" Jigglypuff nodded. "Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow, Jigglypuff!"

"Have a nice night, Marth!"

Jigglypuff was about to head down her pipe when Marth suddenly remember something. "OH! Jigglypuff, wait."

"Yes? What is it, Marth?" Jigglypuff asked, tilting her head in confusing.

Marth opened up a trade window. Jigglypuff let out a confused mumble, but accepted the trade with no problem. Marth search through his items for a bit and came across the item he had sought for. "Here, this is yours." Marth put up the shield they had gained back in the other field, The Star of Twilight.

"Oh... Marth. Its not mine, you got it from that chest, right?" Jigglypuff asked.

Marth laughed and clicked accept. "Yeah, but I don't need it. You can have it, Jigglypuff."

Jigglypuff was hesitant at first, but finally clicked accept. As the trade window disappeared, Jigglypuff's smile grew even wider. "Thank you, Marth... I'm sure he'll love this. Well... I'm heading off now. Good Bye."

Marth nodded. "Good Night, Jigglypuff."

And with their good byes said, the two disappeared down their warp pipes, heading straight for the server town Mushroom Kingdom...

--

-Mushroom Kingdom-

Marth appeared infront of the fountain in a flash of light. The town, unlike during the daytime, seemed to on the verge of being empty. The calming background clearly was playing in the his earpiece, while the voices of chatting players was kept to what sounded like a simple whisper. "Wow, if only it could be this quiet all the time. Either way... time to hit the hay."

As Marth disappeared from the game, Link, who was watching from the side, let out a loud sigh of relief. "Phew, I thought he almost saw me... Ah well, looks like he's off to bed." He paused for a second to check his GID List. "Hmm... I don't think Zelda will be on this late, so I'll have to wait till tomorrow to show her that odd item." Link couldn't help but smile. "Hehe! The 'Event' is finally starting! So exciting!"

--

I logged off from the game and closed down the character select screen. It brought me back to the main menu, asking me if I wanted to load my character, visit the forums, etc. However instead of closing the entire game down, I found myself clicking on the forums button. "So... where would it be... aha, here!"

I moved my mouse over to a button that read 'MAILBOX'. Clicking it brought me up my current mailbox, which was empty, and the option to write mail. "If I couldn't get any answers out of Link... maybe someone else might know."

Opening the 'Write Mail' option brought me to a blank page with only the words; 'Recipient' at the top and a button on the side reading 'Gamer ID Booklet'. I clicked on the GID Booklet and selected the name of the player I was going to send my message too. I began to type and before I knew it, I had a nice message to send.

**TO:** Little Princess Me  
**FROM:** Dragon's Return  
**SUBJECT**: Similar Monster

_Hey Daisy, it's me Marth. How have you been? I'm trying to gain levels, but it's pretty hard. There hasn't been a single day where I could just go on and play how I wanted too haha! Anyway... I have a few questions for you. You remember that monster you and I ran into back in Lava River, correct? Well... today, my friends, Jigglypuff, Link and I ran into a similar monster. 'Cept this one looked more like a mouse then a dinosaur. I think it was called WirFra./PICU. Regardless, it's body texture looked the same - purple wires with that weird logo on its face. But if that isn't weird enough... remember how you couldn't harm it at all, and neither could any of the other people who tried? Yeah, well, apparently my friend Link not only harmed it, but managed to put up a big fight against it. And after Link was hurt, things got even MORE strange! This thing... it looked like a piece of black paper came out of the sky and watched the monster on it's head! NO I'm NOT making this up! But anyway... Daisy, I'm pretty damn confused on the matter. I think Link also has some secret talent or whatnot which may have let him hurt the monster. At the moment I'm real sleepy so if I'm not making any sense, sorry. But the purpose of this mail is: Daisy, if there is anything you know about the thing we fought and if there is any connect between that and this one, could you let me know? Infact, just tell me anything you know! Thank you! - Marth_

I clicked send and watched my letter whiz off to Daisy's computer. If anyone knows anything about those things, I have a feeling it'd be her. Yawning, I closed down SSB:O and began to shut down my PC. The sun was already starting to turn the dark night sky a light blue by the time I managed to crawl into bed. "So... to get those questions answered, I need to reach level ten? Heh... tomorrow is going to be fun..."

CONTINUE...?


	9. LOGIN 8

Disclaimer: The characters in this story is not mine thank you very much :D

A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Here is the next one, and finally more characters show up :D I know, it's AMAZING. Read and Review kthxbyebyez.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #8: Party Problems**

--

"I think you can finish him now!"

"ALRIGHT!"

A blade slashed through the body of a large turtle looking creature. 19 DAM! Floated above the monsters head, as it's body spilt in two. It fell towards the ground, never reaching the grassy plains as it exploded into orbs of light. Marth stood with his sword near the ground, having just finished delivering his attack. Jigglypuff in the background was bouncing up and down, cheering. "Yey!" She called out in excitement. "Those 30 experience points was just enough to bring me one step closer to level ten!"

Marth withdrew his sword and turned around to his partner with a smile on his face. "Yeah, good job. I guess we don't have that much exp left to go till we reach level ten then, huh?"

"That guy was pretty tough, though..." Jigglypuff said as she pointed her staff at Marth. "Life Up Alpha!" She cried, healing the swordsmans HP.

"Mhm..." Agreed Marth, taking a few steps towards the huge castle that was infront of them. "Who would have thought hammers hurt that much?"

Jigglypuff let out a giggle. The two of them were busy leveling up in an odd world that she had heard off on the forums called 'World 1-1'. At first, Marth was a little afraid that this level might hold, given Jigglypuff's record of area's shes' picked up from the forums... but so far, nothing but monsters and players... and no spooky ghosts. Huzzah. "So, shall we head for the boss now?" Jigglypuff asked, walking towards the large doors of the castle infront of them.

Marth nodded and the two entered the large castle. They found themselves in an empty room, torches lit around them. Glancing around the room would show that there was very little to be seen, besides chains and tapestries lining the wall. "I don't see any monsters."

"Me neither..." Marth answered, taking a few steps deeper into the castle.

As he reached about half way into the damp room, an orb of light floated down from the sky. "Welcome to my home!" Marth took out his sword as the orb transformed into a koopa looking creature, with a green shell and a white helmet over it's head. "My name is Big Brother Hammer!" It reached into his shell and took out two hammers, one for each hand. "And now that you've entered, I can not allow you to leave alive!"

Battle music began to play as Marth and Jigglypuff entered a battle against the low leveled boss. "You know the deal, Jigglypuff!"

"Right!"

Marth charged forward at Big Brother Hammer, who began to toss his hammers at Marth at a wild speed. Marth had to keep dodging from side to side as he advanced towards the boss, barely avoiding the oncoming projectiles. As he got within striking range, he swung his sword horizontally across the boss's chest, dealing around 20 damage. He pulled his sword back and swung again. His next strike to the boss dealt only 13 damage.

The Hammer Brother boss jumped backwards and pulled out a huge hammer that he held in both hands. "Back!" It called out, slamming the huge weapon down on Marth's face, knocking the swordsman back a few feet. 56 DAM! Floated above his head as Marth tumbled backwards.

"Life Up Alpha!" Jigglypuff cried, casting a healing spell on her wounded friend.

Marth stood up as the pale green aura healed his wounds. He took out his sword again and charged once more. Once again dodging the hammers, Marth managed to strike twice at the boss once more. The boss moved quickly to the side after his first strike, but was not able to dodge the second. MAJOR HIT! 31 DAM! Appeared as the Boss fell backwards. "Yarg!" It called out. Big Brother Hammer took out one of his hammers and swung at Marth knocking the human to his feet. "TAKE THIS!" The Boss pulled out an even bigger hammer, one about ten times too large. He swung it down at the swordsman, who barely managed to roll out of the way of the huge hammer. As Marth sprung back to his feet, he made sure to strike the beast from the side, dealing around 15 damage.

"THUNDER SHOCK!" Jigglypuff called out, raising her staff into the sky. A small bolt of electricity came zooming down upon the boss, dealing 40 damage and bring its HP into the orange.

The fight stopped suddenly as a cutscene began to play. Big Brother Hammer was holding his sides, panting, damaged from the fight as Marth and Jigglypuff stood ready to give the final blow. "Now you've done it!" He cried out, holding his hands out to the side. "HAMMER WAVE!" Two holes opened in the ceiling of the castle as hundreds of hammers began to fall from the sky. The began to form a wave like pattern behind the boss and he cackled evilly. "Let's see you dodge this!"

The wave of hammers came soaring towards the two as the cutscene ended. "Jigglypuff, get ready to jump... NOW!" Marth and Jigglypuff jumped into the air, doing a flip in unison over the wave of hammers.

"We did it!" Jigglypuff cheered as the two landed on the other side of the wave.

"Yeah. I guess all that practice in the field really paid off, huh?"

Jigglypuff pointed her staff at the wounded boss. "This is my last bit of MP... THUNDER SHOCK!" She called out again, sending another bolt of magic at beast and dealing a decent amount of damage bringing the beast's HP near death.

Just as the thunder shock finished, Marth dashed forward and raised his now glowing blue blade over his head. "DOLPHIN SLASH!" He cried, bringing his blade down on the boss. With Marth's final strike, the boss stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. "Got him!"

Another cutscene quickly began. Big Brother Hammer stumbled backwards, holding his hand over his heart. "Argh! No, no, no! How... How did I lose to pathetic creatures like yoooouuuuu!?" It cried as it disappeared in a flash of white light. A loud flourish boomed through Marth and Jigglypuff's headsets as the duo reached their goal level - level ten.

"YES!" Marth cried out, thrusting his fist into the air. "LEVEL TEN! ALRIGHT!" Jigglypuff simple gave a smile and nodded in agreement with Marth. "Great Job out there Jigglypuff! ...Hey, look!" He pointed towards the treasure chest that had formed with the death of the boss.

>MVP: JIGGLYPUFF

"It's... mine?" Jigglypuff asked in surprise. "I've... never been the MVP before... thats a good thing, right?"

"Of course it is!" Marth said with a smile. "Go open your prize."

Jigglypuff timidly walked over to the chest and opened it with her little hands. From the treasure box shot two orbs, one hitting Jigglypuff and the other striking Marth. "Oh, wow!" She called out in surprise.

>You've found 603 Gold and a Mushroom!

"Eh, not bad, I suppose." Marth said after reading his victory prize. "I guess it could have been better. What did you get, Jigglypuff?"

Jigglypuff didn't answer at first. She seemed to be in shock. After a few moments, however, she spoke, "Um... its a rare weapon... Pauline's Hammer?"

"Never heard of it, but I'm sure it's pretty rare!" Said the blue haired swordsman. "Good find, Jigglypuff! I'm sure you could sell it for alot of gold! Or maybe, find someone who can use it and make a trade?"

"...Maybe..." She answered softly. "Um, Marth... now that we are level ten... will you be heading to that new server? You know, to see that person Link was talking about last night?"

"Uh... most likely, yeah..." When he saw the look of sadness on Jigglypuff's face he quickly continued, "What, did you think we came this far and we'll spilt up now? Unlikely! We're going together!"

Jigglypuff smiled. "Really? Thank You, Marth!"

"It's nothing to thank me over... Urm..."

"Whats wrong?"

Marth gave a nervous laugh. "Haha, nothing! It's just... well, I don't know how to go about going to the next server!"

Jigglypuff nodded. "Yeah, me neither. Maybe the forums would have some information on it? Or better yet, the official site. I'll go check."

Just as Jigglypuff said, however, Marth jumped in and shook his head. "No, no. Let me. I need to... check something, anyway. You just head back to Mushroom Kingdom and wait for me by the water fountain, okay?"

The pokemon nodded and took out her warp pipe. "All right then. I'll see you back at town. Bye!" She disappeared down the green tube, leaving the party. Marth soon followed suit, logging off the moment he landed in the town.

--

I put my controller down and take off my headset for the moment. Damn that thing is ichty... Anyway, I use my mouse to click on the forums button. Just moments before I had received a message while playing the game - I had received new mail. And just as I thought, it was from my very friendly Healer, Daisy.

_"Heh. I hope she has some answers..." I said to myself as I clicked on her message 'Re: Similar Monsters'_

_Oooh, Marth! It's been too long! -kiss- Ahem, anyway... so you ran into a monster like the one we faced :O!?! Wow... That sure is odd. Sadly, however, I have only about as much info on those things as you do. :( My suggestion: Make a post on the 'Rumors' board about them. I'm sure we're not the only ones who ran into them, y'know. Maybe others will have more of an idea. If not - try Ness. I REALLY think he's hiding something'... infact, leave that me, I'll get him. All for you, my dear Marth. No need for thanks. :3 As for that guy coming from the sky and hitting it with a bell... I have a confession to make. See, during the time you were KOed when we were fighting that monster, it wasn't me that killed the monster, one of those things floated out of the sky and did it, too. They're called 'Broken Characters', since they seem to move and act like a broken piece of character data (apparently. never seen broken character data to compair it XDDD). The only bit I know bout those is that they have shown up randomly and deleted other players! So whatever they are, the must not be good :(! So yeah... sowwy I couldn't help more, my dear. But if you make that post, you should be able to get some infomation on 'em. Hehe. I'll keep you informed on anything I find out, kay? ;D haha! _

_xoxoDaisyxoxo_

...Well... that didn't give me too much information. Make a post on the forums? I could have done that without her help... Sighing, I closed down the e-mail and went to click on the 'Rumor' section of the forums. "Lets see... here we go, post new topic." I clicked on the button and it brought me to a new page.

"Title of the post?" ... Hmm.. I know. I typed in "Questions on the Wired Monsters and the 'Broken Character's" Hopefully, that will get some attention. Once the title was finished I began to write my post.

_Dragon's Return: Hey everyone, this is my first post here, so sorry if something goes wrong. Haha. Anyway, I was just wondering - How many of you have heard of the Broken Characters, or of those weird purple Wired Monsters? I recently encountered the two of them with my party in an area a while back. We managed to get away, but... yeah, well I'm just asking if anyone has any information of these two things. Any information would be great! Thank You!_

I hit the submit button and my post flew onto the forum. "I guess I just wait, then..."

I closed down the forums and returned to the main log in screen. I moved my mouse over the button reading 'Official Site' and double clicked. It brought me a page with so many different topics, I couldn't even tell where to start looking. There was everything from the 'History of the Game' to how to 'Move your Character'. "Maybe... I should have checked here first... before I started playing."

Atlast I found the topic of my desire - the servers. I clicked it quickly and began to read. "Here we go... Hyrule." I skimmed over the description of the town, item stores and what the area's were like in the server. Finally, I noticed the very last words, in big red letters read: In Order to reach Hyrule Server, a player must be LEVEL TEN and have completed the quest 'EPONAS RUN'.

"Ah, so I need to find that quest, huh?" I said, closing the window. I still had no clue where to get the quest... but atleast I knew what to do. I opened back up the forums and noticed that my post had already gotten some replys. "Ha! I hope they know more then Daisy."

Opening my post I found, to my surprise, three posts that seemed to be able to help me.

_LittlePrincessMe: OMG MARTH :D! YOU MADE A POST :3! __GOOD JOB! Hehe  
__xDarkCloudx: Wired Monsters? Never heard of them. But the 'Broken Characters'... theres a thread for that somewhere else. Go search for it.  
__Timeless Hero: ...Marth - I hope you read this in time. Don't post these questions on the forums. Hurry and reach level ten :D! You'll get more then enough answers then :D!_

...Nevermind...

I closed down my topic and as the forums loaded back up, my jaw dropped. "Huh?! Wait... what?!"

My post was no longer on the page. Frantically I clicked the back button. My eyes grew wide as I read the words that scrolled across my screen:

**TOPIC DELETED** - Please Try Again Later.

"That's... weird..." I said, myself really at a loss for words. Why did my post get deleted? I don't think I violated any of the rules... I shook my head and was about to go check the Rules of the Forums once again when I suddenly remembered I had something else to do. "Oh, thats right, Jigglypuff!"

--

Jigglypuff sat on the side of the large fountain, drawing random pictures in the dirt with her staff. "I sure hope... he didn't leave me..." She muttered quietly, letting out a sigh. "Oh well..."

She was about to get up and begin to log off when she heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Jigglypuff! I'm back!"

Jigglypuff turned and smiled as she saw Marth running towards her with his hand waving. "Oh, Marth. Hello."

Marth reached the mage and began to pant. "Sorry, sorry! I had to check a post on the forums."

"It's no problem." Jigglypuff answered. "Here... I think I just invited you."

"Yup. Good Job."

"Okay then Marth... what do we have to do to get to the next server?"

Marth shrugged. "Well... I know we have to complete a quest called 'Eponas' Run'. Where you get that though, I'm not sure."

"Oh. How about you ask one of your friends?" Jigglypuff suggested. "Maybe they'll know."

Marth nodded in agreement. "Yeah, thats a good idea. I'll send a whisper to Link then..."

>MARTH: Uh... Link?  
>LINK: HEY MARTH :D!  
>LINK: Did you read the post on the forums?  
>MARTH: Yeah... but it got deleted shortly after.  
>LINK: Cause i reported it : sowwy.  
>MARTH: Um... can I ask why?  
>LINK: Get to level ten and you'll find out ;D  
>MARTH: ...sometimes you can be a real jerk :(  
>LINK:O!!!!  
>LINK: My heart :(  
>LINK: But trust me, once you find out, you won't regret my choice ;D  
>MARTH: Whatever dude...  
>MARTH: Anyway... I was wondering, how do u get to Hyrule?  
>LINK: You need to be level ten, first off.  
>MARTH: I am.  
>LINK: Really!? Congratulations!!!  
>MARTH: Yeah... well, what do I do after that?  
>LINK: You gotta get the quest Epona's Run or somethin.  
>MARTH: Where do I get it?  
>LINK: There should be a NPC in the field to the east. He gives it :D  
>MARTH: Thanks.

--

"Heh! Ness, guess what?" Link asked, staring up into the cloudless sky of field he and the boy were traveling in.

Ness stopped in his tracks and turned towards the Hylian. "What is it?"

"Marth is level ten!"

The boy rolled his eyes and shrugged. "And you're point is...?"

Link sighed. "I'm sure by now you know that he's part of the 'Event', correct?" Ness nodded. "Well, then, now that he's level ten, it will only be a few more hours before he can meet with Zelda! And then we might have another ally to join us!"

"Oh wow." Ness said, his tone obviously giving away his feelings. "Soon we'll have a newbie to help us battle against the forces that are trying to destroy the Internet and infect the globe through the web. How wonderful."

"I know, isn't it!?" Link replied with a smile, missing Ness's sarcasm by a mile. "Let's hurry and take down this boss so that we can get back to Zelda by the time Marth finishes his quest." Ness reluctantly sighed and followed Link as the two headed off in the direction of the boss.

--

"Did he tell you?" Jigglypuff asked timidly.

Marth nodded. "Yeah. We need to find an NPC in the field to the east. I guess he'll give the quest then."

The two walked to the east and down the dirt road which lead them to the wide open grassy field. Like before, it's calm and peaceful nature was much more welcoming then the city itself. Players were resting in the field, most of them talking in party chat, while Toad NPCs ran about the plain. "Which one gives it?" Asked the pokemon, watching the mushroom men run around.

"Uh... I'm not sure." Marth replied with a shrug. "Let's spilt up and ask them all, I suppose."

And so began Marth and Jigglypuff adventure. So tideous, it was. "Hello there!" Jigglypuff would greet.

"What fine weather we're having, don't you agree?" Said one.

"Do you give the quest?" Marth asked to another.

"Gosh darn it! I think I broke my toe..." Replied another.

"Umm... Excuse me..." Jigglypuff said meekly to another NPC.

"I heard those Beast Folk are smelly. I've never smelt one, though." Was this one's reply.

"What fine weather we're having, don't you agree?"

"I bought a new item at that shop over there. I think he ripped me off!"

"Do you like dancing?"

"What fine weather we're having, don't you agree?"

"Gosh darn it! I think I broke my toe..."

After about ten minutes of running about the field, the two met back up and fell to the ground. "Not a single one of them gave the quest..." Marth muttered, sighing in defeat. "Man... how are we going to get to Hyrule now?"

Just then the sound of someone approaching them echoed through their headsets. The two tired players turned to see a human with brown hair and blue eyes, knightly looking armor and a huge sword across his back. "You two. I've watched you guys for a bit, what are you guys looking for?"

Marth rolled his mouse over the character. PARN it read. "Well, um, Parn... We're looking for the NPC that gives the quest Epona's run or something, so we can go to Hyrule."

"Really? Wow, you two must be newbies then, huh?"

Marth got an angry expression on his face, but it quickly vanished as he sighed. Jigglypuff just looked downwards at the grass in embarrassment. "Could you just help us?" Asked the swordsman, standing up.

PARN turned and pointed to a purple tent with the word 'QUEST' written above it. Marth's face went five shades of read as he began to speak, "Well, this is just a hunch, but maybe if I was looking for a quest, I'd try the building with the word quest on it?"

"Erm... well... uh..." Marth glanced around the field trying to think of something to say. Jigglypuff just held her head lower and let out an embarrassed moan. "I didn't... notice?"

"Uh huh..." PARN answered with a nod. "Sure you didn't. Well, good luck with your quest." The Dark Blade PARN waved goodbye to the two as he logged off.

Jigglypuff stood up and ran over to the building, not once taking her eyes off the ground. Marth watched the pokemon run and he couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Geez, must have embarrassed her, huh?" He said, walking calmly behind the running mage.

--

-Quest Shop-

Marth entered the purple tent and was met by a worried looking Jigglypuff, who was busy shifting her toes and staring at the ground. "You get embarrassed easily, don't you Jigglypuff?" Marth asked with a laugh.

"Sorry..." She muttered, not taking her eyes off the ground.

The swordsman shrugged and looked around the room. It was a simple room with a purple rug and a table with a purple cloak infront of them. On the ceiling of the tent were images of stars and moons. On the table was a crystal ball, which was glowing a light blue color. Behind the crystal ball was black cat looking creature with violet eyes and a violet dress with some orange stripes towards the end. "Greetings!" It spoke as Marth entered. "I am Katrina, the quest giver of the Mushroom Kingdom. What quest shall you take part in today?"

--

I moved Marth up to the crystal ball and pressed the A button. A list came up with a bunch of gray and hard to read missions. "Can I not choose those?" I asked, clicking on the first mission I saw.

An echo sound played, which was followed by the text appearing on the screen: Only the leader may choose the quest.

"Oh, Jigglypuff, you need to select the quest."

"I do!?" Jigglypuff called out in shock. "Oh... oh... um..."

I heard a click and the words appeared on my monitor: You have now become party leader! "What the..."

"I made you party leader. I remember how to do it, since when I first played, my party kept leaving and coming back. I made you leader because ... I erm, don't want to mess up and choose the wrong quest."

She really didn't have much self confidence, huh... I shrug it off and click back into the quest lists. I scrolled down and found the one I was searching for. "Here we go, Epona's Run." I clicked it and as I did, another echoey sound filled the headset and text shot up onto the screen. "Huh?"

"Whats wrong?" I heard Jigglypuff ask.

I pause at first, thinking over what I had just read. "...So, wait... we need another...?"

The text read: You need three party members to accept this quest!

--

Marth and Jigglypuff walked outside of the tent and sat down on the side. "So, we can only do this quest if we have three members, huh..." Marth muttered. "Let me see... Link and Ness have their status set to busy... and Daisy isn't online... so I don't have anyone who would come." He turned and looked at Jigglypuff. "Do you?"

"Um... no, none of my friends are online..." She answered.

"Then what are we going to do..." Marth stared up at the smiling clouds in hopes of getting an idea. "I guess... we could just ask a bunch of players if they'll want to join us, right?" Jigglypuff didn't answer. "Let's see..."

--

I fumbled around with the party controls until I found the 'Search for Party Member' button. "Here we go." I clicked and it brought up a list of names - apparently all the players in the server that were looking for a party and were around my level.

"Oh... hm..."

"Whats wrong, Marth?" Came Jigglypuff's soft voice.

"Well..." Next to each of the players name there was a level, their class and what they were searching for. For example, some of the players were looking to level up. Some where looking to do certain quests. Some wanted to trade items. After doing a quick run through of all the players looking for a quest, I found that none on the list were looking to do Epona's Run. "No one is looking to do our quest."

Jigglypuff muttered an 'oh' as I continued to play with the controls. "No biggie!" I announced, making Marth smile. "I'll just put that we're searching for a party to do that quest! I'm sure someone will want to join."

I filled out the needed criteria to search for a party and clicked the enter button. As I did, a green orb appeared over Marth's head. "Eh?"

--

"Maaaarth!" Jigglypuff called, standing up and backing away. "There is something above your head!"

Marth stood up, and as he did, the orb traveled with him, not once moving from its place atop his skull. "Oh... I guess that shows that we're looking for party or something." He replied.

"Oh. Hehehe..."

Across from the two, there were two more players. A young girl in a pink parka was sitting atop a rock, staring into the sky, while a boy in a blue parka was laying across the ground. "...Oh!" Cried the girl suddenly. "Someone just put up there marker for the quest."

"Really?" Answered the boy, not paying much attention. "What class? And how many?"

"...Oh... it's a mage and a swordsman."

The boy on the ground let out a 'Hmm' as he rolled over. "Nah, lets just keep waiting for a single party to open."

"Okay." She replied with a smile. "Sorry Marth and Jigglypuff, but you'll have to join the waiting gang." Said the girl with a silly giggle.

However, upon hearing the names of the players, the boy on the grounds' eyes widened. "Hey... what did you say their names were again?"

"Marth and Jigglypuff." She answered.

The boy sat up and glanced around the field. "Can you tell me where they are?"

The girl nodded and highlighted Marth's name on her party search list. "Right over there." She said pointing towards the blue haired swordsman, who was busy dancing for the laughing Jigglypuff.

Looking over, the boy noticed the two characters avatars. "...I see. Hey, let's go talk to them. Maybe we will form a party after all."

"Kay."

The two got up and walked across the field, heading over to the two laughing players. "Hey, you! Meat shield!" Cried the boy as the two neared Marth and Jigglypuff. "C'mere!"

Marth turned around at looked at the boy stunned. "Uh... _excuse _me? What did you just call me?" He asked, not sure if he had heard what he did.

"You heard me, meat shield!" He called again, making a motion with his hand to come closer. "I need to chat with you."

"Well, maybe you should try talking to someone nicer before you ask to chat with them!" Marth yelled back, turning away and crossing his arms. "Geez, why are people online so rude?"

"Oh, he wasn't being rude." Came a sweet voice. Marth turned around to see the pink parka wearing girl leaning out from behind the blue boy. She had an innocent smile on her face and her hands bend her back. "It was a compliment. See, the term 'Meat Shield' is something that players use to refer to your class, since you can take the most hits and protect the team the most. You're the prefect tank, you know."

Marth glanced back. "Really?" She nodded. "Oh... sorry."

"Nice save..." Muttered the boy, at which the girl gave a giggle.

"So, uh, what do you two need?" Marth asked.

"You're looking to do the quest, 'Epona's Run' correct?" Asked the boy. Marth and Jigglypuff nodded. "Well, so are we."

Jigglypuff's eyes lit up. "Oh, really? That's good! Marth, we can form a party!"

Marth nodded. "Alright, that sounds good. Its nice too meet you two, um..." He rolled his mouse over the two.

Character: Popo  
Race: Human  
Level: 10  
Class: Mallet Smasher  
HP: 140  
MP: 65

Character: Nana  
Race: Human  
Level: 10  
Class: Mallet Smasher  
HP: 140  
MP: 65

"It's nice to meet you too, Marth." Nana, the girl in pink, said with another smile.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The blue boy, Popo, said. "Invite Nana into your party now."

Marth nodded. "Uh, sure..." There was a brief pause as Nana was added to the party.

"Hey there." Nana said with another smile as she switched into party chat.

--

I wonder if this girl is going to be as happy as Link? Either way, I clicked on Popo and went to add him into my party as well. But as I clicked 'Add', an error message came up: You can have no more then three party members on this server.

"Huh?"

"What is it?" Jigglypuff asked.

"I can't add Popo to our party."

"Well of course you can't." Popo said rolling his eyes. "...Are you two new or something? Each server has its own limit on how many people can be in your party at once. For example, on this server, you can only have a party of three. As you go through the servers, the party number increases."

Nana continued, "On the final server of the game, you can have a party of eight members. But it's very rare that you'll find a party that big. See, the bigger the party, the hard it is to get rare items. Plus the EXP is shared evenly..."

"So eight is the biggest party you can have?" I asked.

"No. If you want too, you can form an alliance with another group of players. You can have two parties of eight working together." Explained the blue Popo. "That is very rare, though. Mostly you'd see that during a very tough event or quest."

Wow... that's good to know, I guess.

--

"So, does that mean you're not going to be joining us?" Marth asked.

Popo shook his head. "Nawh, I'll show up. Just leave that part to me. We'll form an alliance in the field once you guys show up."

Marth nodded. "Okay..."

Popo nodded and started to turn. "Well then, go get your quest. I'll meet you guys at the area field. Take good care of Nana while I'm gone, okay?"

"Ah, sure." Popo smiled and began to head back to the city, waving goodbye as he did. "...That sure felt weird."

"What did?" Nana asked, inching closer.

"This whole... 'party' thing."

She grinned. "Find it weird to put your faith and trust in successfully completing an important task in the hands of complete strangers?"

Marth gave Nana a lost stare. "Uh... I think so."

"Well, you'll have to get used to it. See, in online games like this, it's very rare that you're going to be in a party with all of your friends all of the time." She explained. "In order to level up, or complete a quest, you're going to have to join a party of mostly strangers to complete the task. Whether or not that party works, however, is up to the organization of the group. If you've got enough healers and buffers, and damage dealers. Stuff like that, y'know?"

The swordsman nodded slowly. "I see."

"It's really not so bad, honestly." Nana added. "It kinda gives you a worldly look at the game. You know, getting a chance to play with many different kinds of players. That's one of the most important parts of these online games - interaction between different players. And the fact that you're thrown into random parties sorta forces that interaction! That's the best part of the game... well, to me atleast."

"Hmph. I've only met two kinds of people so far. Nice guys and Jerks!" Marth answered, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Well... sooner or later, you'll find the nice jerks." She replied with a giggle. "But until that happens, how about we go prepare ourselves? We might need some items for the trip."

"I suppoe..." Answered Marth with a nod. "Alright then. Let's meet back here in five minutes." The two females nodded as well and the group set off towards town to stock up on supplies.

--

Back in town, my party of three split up, each heading to our own shops. I found myself once again infront of the large mushroom shaped item shop. "Welcome to my store! "Please feel free to browse and carouse. Hoho!" Welcomed the NPC.

I sighed at the annoying greeting and opened up the list. My amount of gold was pretty decent, so I began to pick some maximum tomatoes and an item I read about on the forums early in the day - A Heart Piece - which is said to be able to revive a fallen player. "That'd always be good to have." I said with a smile.

"What would?"

That voice... I've heard it before...was it...

"Ooooh, is my dear Marthy going on an adventure?"

Ah... I remember...

--

Marth turned around to come face to face with the healer in the yellow dress, Daisy. She was winking at him with a huge smile on her face. "Long time no see, hmm?"

"Not really... it's only been like two days, right?"

Daisy giggled. "Yes, but you see, once you start playing this game alot, two days becomes a long time, y'know?"

"I guess..." He muttered, going back to shopping.

Marth's ignoring of the healer caused her to cross her arms and give off an annoyed 'hmph'. "You're really not a friendly person, are you Marth?"

"I am... just not when I'm busy." Marth finished up selecting his items, paid with his gold and took a step away from the counter. "So, whats up Daisy?"

She shrugged. "Not much. I just logged on and I saw you walk into the shop, so I felt like following."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Stalking much?"

"Well maybe I am..." Daisy replied, her voice softer and sexier. "And I bet you wouldn't complain, hmm?" She took a few steps closer to him with a very seductive look on her face.

Marth blushed. "...Hey wait! I didn't put in the command to blush!" He yelled, looking away from the healer.

At his outburst Daisy couldn't help but laugh. "Certain commands when done to other avatars make their avatar respond a certain way. I just used /seduce on you, which made you blush."

"Oh..."

"I forget you still kinda new." Daisy said with a smile. "But look! You're level ten! My, my, haven't we grown? So, what are you doing? Are you going out to level up in a field or something?"

Marth shook his head. "No. I'm doing the quest to get me to Hyrule."

"Oooh, Epona's Run? I love that quest!" Her eyes grew wider and brighter and she brought her index finger to her mouth for added cuteness. "Oh, Marthy, let me join, pleeeeease?"

"Sorry, I'm already in a party."

"Oh, drat." Daisy muttered. "What a bore... well, either way, good luck on your quest. I'm off to level up."

She turned to leave the shop when Marth called out. "Hey, wait."

Daisy turned around. "Hmm?"

"That message... I got yours." He answered.

Daisy gave a smirk. "I see." She lowered her voice. "So... have you found anymore information on those creatures?"

Marth shook his head. "No. Well, not really. I did make a post on the forums..."

"Yeah, I saw that."

"It was deleted a few minutes after, though."

Daisy looked shocked. "Really? Was it now..." She began to stroke her chin in thought. "Hmm... you know, now that I think of it, I remember another post... something about a deadly glitch... was deleted shortly after I was PKed by Dr. Mario. Maybe... this is some sort of super cool and secret event that the mods don't want people to know about. " Daisy shrugged. "Thats just a hunch, though."

"You think that Ness knows more about the event?" Marth asked.

"Oh, yes, thats right. I talked to him a bit after you gave me the stone. He seemed to know something that he didn't want to tell me." Daisy turned and began to walk out of the shop once more. "I'm going to chase him down and ask him. I'll let you know any information I pick up, kay?" She turned her head one last time. "You keep me informed too, alright?" Marth nodded. "Alright, good! I can't wait till the next time we play, my little Marthy."

"..." Marth sighed as Daisy giggled and ran off towards the white portal.

>POPO: WHERE ARE YA GUYS? -.- I'M BORED!

"Aagh!" Marth took a step back as Popo's whisper appeared suddenly on his screen. "Geez, he seems impatient. Well... I better go get that quest, then."

With that, Marth dashed off towards the field, hoping that his two party members haven't gone without him. "I sure hope this quest isn't hard..."

CONTINUE...?


	10. LOGIN 9

Disclaimer: I do not own SSBM. Nope.

A/N: Sorry bout the wait. Had to move into College and what not. Anyway, if you people thought that the story was slightly lagging now, I advise you to wait until chapter 11 D: cause these next chapters drag out the story FOR-EV-A.

Background Music:  
The Lost Woods: LoZ Theme  
Hyrule: Termina's Bay Alternative theme. Or Young Link's theme? Saria's Song? Whatever you call it. I think I might have switched the themes :o oh well XD

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #9: To Hyrule! - Part One**

--

Marth found himself running back into the open grassy field with little time to spare. "Oh no, I'm gonna be late!" He shouted as he ran across the plain.

He arrived at the purple tent to be greeted by Nana and Jigglypuff, who looked like they haven't been waiting for too long. "Yo." Greeted Nana, a mallet slung across her right shoulder. "It took you long enough. I already got like five angry whispers from Popo."

"Sorry." Marth apologized. "But I ran into someone I knew in town."

"It's no biggie." She answered. "Let's just get the quest now."

Marth nodded and the three of them walked into the tent. Inside, Katrina was still sitting, her hands forever moving around the glowing crystal ball. "Greetings! I am Katrina, the quest giver of the Mushroom Kingdom. What quest shall you take part in today?"

Marth opened up the list of quests and scrolled down till he found the one labeled 'Epona's Run'. "Alright everyone. You two ready?"

"Yup!" Nana replied with a grin.

"...I guess..." Jigglypuff whispered.

"Here we go!"

Marth hit the A button on the control. As he did, their screens went black. It stayed that way for a moment, then slowly the picture began to filter back in. Sad music played in the background as a cutsceen began. Marth, Nana and Jigglypuff, with Marth in the front, all turned to see a young girl walk into the tent. She had long red hair and a white dress that went down to about her ankles. Her pointy ears gave away her race and around her neck she wore an... interesting brooch. "Oh, oh!" She cried out, looking extremely distressed. "Are you the heros who have accepted my quest?"

"Yes, young lady." Said Marth, as the cut screen programed him to say. "Tell us, what is your name?"

The girl began to rock back and forth. "My name is Malon. I live in the far away kingdom of Hyrule. My father and I raise horses there, on our farm, the Lon Lon Ranch."

Marth nodded. "Very well, Malon. What is it that you need us to do?"

Malon's face filled with worry. "You see, friends, my favorite horse - Epona - has recently come down with a rare sickness that effects horses. There is only one cure... and no one in Hyrule grows it. The only people who do are the mushroom men of the Mushroom Kingdom." She explained. "Worried for my horse, I came here with my father to purchase the medicine. We were to head back tomorrow... when we received word that Epona's situation had grown worse.

"Yes. Go on."

"The journey from Hyrule to the Mushroom Kingdom on foot takes atleast a two days. Epona needs this medicine by tonight, or... or..." Malon's eyes began to fill with tears. "Please! You must help me!"

Marth crossed his arms. "Young lady, you must understand that we travel at the same speed as you. We will not reach Hryule by night."

"Not on the normal path!" Malon cried. "You see... there is another path. If you were to take it, you could arrive in Hyrule by the night. My father and I would take this route but... it cuts through a dark and dangerous forest... known as The Lost Woods."

"I've heard of the woods." Marth answered. "So, Malon, you want us to go through these woods and arrive at the Lon Lon Ranch with the medicine before night falls?" Malon nodded. "This is no easy task you ask of us."

"Please! I will pay anything you ask!" Malon yelled, taking a step forward. "Anything, just please! Please try!"

Marth looked down at the ground. "..." After a few moments of thinking, he nodded. "Very well."

Malons' woeful face began to brighten up. "Really? Thank you, thank you! Here!"

You've received EPONA'S MEDICINE from MALON

"Please hurry, Marth!"

The screen faded to black once more. Another moment passed, then the image of Marth and his party standing infront of the counter was seen on their computer screens once more. "You have accepted this quest." Cackled Katrina. "Go, now, to this area and complete the quest!"

You can now travel to THE LOST WOODS

Marth spun around and smiled. "Did you guys see me in that cutscene? I was so cool! Haha!"

Jigglypuff blushed slightly. "Um, yes, you were..."

"Well then, are you guys ready?" Jigglypuff nodded but no response came from the Mallet Smasher. "Nana?"

Nana seemed to be lost in thought. "That cutscene... how... since when?"

"Nana!" Marth said again more forcefully, shocking her out of her thought.

"Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking of something." She nodded. "Yes, I'm ready.

"Then off we go!" Marth announced, walking out of the tent. "Off to The Lost Woods!"

Jigglypuff smiled weakly and followed her friend forward. However, Nana stayed behind for a moment, still deep in thought. "That doesn't make any sense." She muttered, slowly following her two party members. "Since when could NPCs speak a players name?"

--

I ran Marth's avatar right up to the large white portal. "Alright then... here we go!" I call out, entering the void, and selecting my destination.

Finally... I was only a quest away from gaining answers...

--

--The Lost Woods--

Marth, Nana and Jigglypuff appeared ontop of a large grassy hill. It was a sunny field, with the rays of the sun beaming down from behind realistic looking clouds. Of in the distance was a huge and dark clump of trees with a single road leading into it, which Marth presumed to be the Lost Woods. Beyond that, there was large castle sitting in the distance. "Wow..." Marth said in awe. "This place looks... more real."

"It should." Said Nana. "We're no longer on the Mushroom Kingdom server. Marth, Jigglypuff... Welcome to Hyrule!"

As Nana finished her sentence, the background music began to flood in. It sounded loud and energetic... like some sorta of theme to an epic legend. But the beautiful music was cut short by the yell of another player. "YOU'RE LATE!"

They turned around to see Popo behind them with his arms crossed and an angry look on his face. "Popo..." Jigglypuff muttered meekly, taking a step back.

Popo took a few steps forward and stopped infront of Marth. "Okay, Marth. Click me, then go into party. From there, go to the add member button. Once you click it, it will ask if you want to form an alliance with me. Got it?"

"Yeah..." Marth answered, following Popo's instructions. His name and stats soon appeared in a new box below that of Marth and his current party. "Uh, so... where is your team?" Asked the swordsman as he began an alliance with the boy in the blue parka.

"Don't ya worry about them." Popo replied. "Let's get this quest over with!" He ran to the side of the hill and jumped off, soaring through the air for a bit. When the game's gravity finally reclaimed him, he skidded down to the foot of the hill and began to run off in the direction of the forest.

"He's sure in a rush." Said Marth as he began to walk calmly down the hill with Nana and Jigglypuff following. "Nana, do you think he'll mind if we take our time?"

Nana gave an unsure look. "Uuuuuh... why are we going to take out time?"

"I've never been here." Answered the swordsman. "I'd like to take a look around. It looks so much different then the other fields."

"Like I said, we're not in Mushroom Kingdom anymore." Explained the mallet smasher. "This is Hyrule. Each of the different servers has its own style, although they all fall back to the same core idea - fantasy. Mushroom Kingdom was more... out of this world fantasy. Hyrule is more... once upon a time fantasy. Ya get it?"

Marth nodded as he and Jigglypuff reached the foot of the hill. The two looked around the large grassy field. The field itself seemed different. As Nana had said, the graphics in this area brought a more 'real' feel to the game. "Look at the colors in the flowers." Jigglypuff said, bending down to look at a small flower. "It doesn't have eyes on it, either!"

Nana couldn't help but smile at the two players as they ran about the empty field, enjoying their first time in Hyrule. "Ah... to be a newbie again... urh, wait, what am I saying?!"

Jigglypuff and Marth found themselves laying down in the grassy field, staring up at the realistic sky. "I really like it here." Jigglypuff said with a smile as Nana loomed in over them. "As much as I love the town and victory outposts, there is rarely a time you can just relax in an area."

Nana shrugged. "I guess... but guys, we really should be moving. Popo isn't one for waiting."

Marth stood up and sighed. "Alright. C'mon Jigglypuff." The three began to walk together towards the dark and impending trees of The Lost Woods. "So... Jigglypuff, anything big happen today? When I logged on, we went right to leveling up. You do anything else?"

"Oh, um yes..." Replied the Pokemon. "My friend from the other day... the mouse guy, he came and invited me into a guild."

Marth looked confused. "A... guild?"

--

Guild... guild... sounds familiar.

"Yes. Its a group of people who sorta join the same... team, I guess." She explained. "Like... we all can talk to each other and stuff. It's really cool. Marth... I thought you knew about guilds?"

My face went red. "Uh... Of course I did!" I quickly shouted back. "I was... testing you to see if you knew what you were getting yourself into."

There was no way she bought that...

"Oh! Hehe, well, thank you... but I know."

...Hum...

--

"So, um..." Jigglypuff began to play with her fingers as the trio walked towards the forest. "Would you like to join our guild, Marth?"

"Eh?" Marth turned in confusion. "Join your... guild?"

Jigglypuff nodded. "Yes. I'd love for you to be in it!" She said with a blush. "I just, um... can't invite you. Let me as my guild leader."

Jigglypuff paused in the meadow for a bit causing Marth and Nana to stop aswell. Nana let out a sigh and said, "Well... Popo is gonna have one heck of a hissy-fit when we get there now."

"Sorry." Marth apologized with a grin.

Nana sighed again as Jigglypuff let out a quick yelp. "Oh! Marth... I'm sorry..." She began, looking down at the grass. "But they only allow... certain players into the guild. I'm really sorry if I had gotten your hopes up."

"No, no, its fine." Marth replied with a laugh.

"Are you two done procrastinating yet?" Nana asked, crossing her arms. "Or are we going to stand out in this field all day? Don't you too want to get to Hyrule?"

The three continued on their way, approaching the eerie entrance to the forest. As they did, the bright light from the sun began to fade, bringing the trio into the dark shadow of the trees. Jigglypuff's character even shivered upon reaching the shadowy entrance. "It must be cold here." She guessed, continuing to walk.

Once enter they were met with a sight they were expecting to see. An angry Popo with his mallet slung across his back. "You guys sure did take your time!" He said as they walked up to the waiting player.

"Sorry, Popo. We got help up." Nana explained with a smile. "But no worries, we're here now, y'know!"

Popo sighed, then smiled and took a step into the woods. "Alright then. Let's get this over with."

The party of four began to march through the dark woods. Every which way they would look, all they could see were dark shadows of the trees. The leaves themselves were covering the forest sky, filtering out all light. The only light in the area came from small holes in the leaves. Ironically, these holes, though extremely small, gave enough light to brighten up the forest to atleast some level of visibility. "Popo, do you know where we are going?" Marth asked at they marched.

"Of course I do!" He called back. "Just make sure you follow me. See, The Lost Woods is just as it says. It's very easy for a player to lose the main road. And once they do, its almost impossible to find their way back to it. Many have to restart the quest."

"Oh."

They continued on, marching through the woods for a bit until Popo lifted his hand causing Marth and his party to stop. "Time to fight."

Infront of Popo three orbs of light began to float up from the ground. Marth smirked and took his sword out while Nana and Popo readied their mallets. Jigglypuff took her staff and took a few steps backwards, getting into her healing position. "Here is how we'll fight. Marth, you go in first and take their arggo. Me and Popo will sneak in from the sides and deal damage. Jigglypuff, heal Marth before us. Do you know Ember yet?" Jigglypuff nodded. "Okay, fire one of those in if you have the MP." Nana explained.

As the ords of light transformed into the beasts they were about to battle, Marth's mouth dropped in shock. "What the heck are those things!" He cried as the epic battle music began to boom through the headset. The orbs had transformed, not into cute little turtles or brown bumps, but into human sized, brown corpses that were rocking back and forth, their arms outreaching towards the party as they gave haunting moans.

"ReDeads." Popo answered, lifting his mallet. "Were you expecting Koopas?"

"Well... I wasn't expecting those things."

"Marth, Go!" Nana cried as the ReDeads began to slowly lumber forward.

Marth readied his blade and dashed towards the first ReDead. He managed to slice it twice, dealing 43 Damage in total, before the corpse was able to get a hold of him. "Ooooh!" It moaned, bringing it's head down on Marth. 50 DAM! Floated above his head. "Ooooh!" It moaned again, biting Marth once more. 50 DAM!

"They're strong!" Marth cried as Jigglypuffs' Life Up aura finally reached him, healing his HP. Marth pushed the ReDead back and prepared another strike. The ReDeads continued to march towards him. "Nana... Popo... I can't fight them all alone..." When no one replied, he glanced to his side. "Huh? They're gone?"

"MALLET MAYHEM!" Cried two high-pitched voices. From the sides of the battle field Popo and Nana flew in, their mallets glowing red. Both of them managed to slam their weapons right down on one of the two ReDeads on the side, dealing about 130 damage to each and knocking them to the ground. The ReDeads moaned and began to rock their way towards the mallet smashers, who charged up to their respected ReDead and began to swing their Mallets wildly. Each strike they managed to land did around 15 damage and slowly lowered the beasts HP bar.

The ReDead that was heading towards Marth back a turn and started to walk back towards the other two to help it's fellow monsters. Marth quickly noticed this and thrusted his saber forward, striking the retreating monster for 20 damage. The ReDead turned back towards Marth and lunged forward, at which the swordsman easily managed to dodge. While the ReDead stumbled, his blade began to glow blue. "DOLPHIN SLASH!" His avatar cried, striking the ReDead with his powerful blade, dealing 93 damage.

Behind Marth, Nana and Popo were having an easy time dealing with their ReDeads. Nana was jumping about, striking her monster from all different angles, not allowing the ReDead enough time to try and grab the little warrior. "Ya!" She would cry, swinging her mallet across the back of the beast, dealing about 13 damage and knocking it forward.

Popo was busy knocking the ReDead about the fighting area. He kept using special moves that knocked the ReDead down and across the ground, after which Popo would follow. "MALLET MAYHEM!" He cried again, swinging his red hammer at his ReDead. His attack sent the monster flying across the field and slamming into a tree. As the damage affected the ReDeads HP bar, Popo charged forward. The ReDead was limp on the tree, having a hard time try to get up. He lifted his mallet and brought it smashing down on the ReDeads helpless body, dealing a major hit for 30 damage and destroying his monster. "Got it!"

"Ooooh!" Popo turned to see that Nana's ReDead had finally gotten ahold of her and watched helplessly as her HP bar dropped drastically.

"Life Up Alpha!" Cried Jigglypuff, healing the Mallet Smasher of her wounds. "Life Up Alpha!" She called once more as the ReDead attacked again. "EMBER!" Jigglypuff pointed her staff at the beast which had just let go on Nana. A small flame appeared at the feet of the beast. The ReDead moaned and looked down just as that flame exploded into a group of larger flames, dealing a major hit of over 100 damage and destroying the ReDead. "Wow. Are they weak against fire?"

Nana nodded. "Yes. Thanks, Jigglypuff."

Marth continued to strike his ReDead monster with his blade, dealing good amounts of damage. The ReDead went forward again, trying to grab onto the swordsman, however, the attack missed and allowed Marth to give a major hit. But in the end, it was Popo who managed to jump up and swing down his mallet, crushing the ReDead to nothing and delivering the final blow. The ReDead moaned and exploded into pieces of colors as their EXP flashed across the screen.

--

That was pretty tough... for my first battle in Hyrule, I suppose.

"Good work guys." I said, watching my experience points slowly fill my EXP bar. "Let's get a team high-five!"

But instead, Jigglypuff blushed, Nana smiled then looked away and Popo just kept on walking.

So much for team spirit...

--

--Hyrule--

Link and Ness appeared right outside of a white portal. The portal was right infront of a bridge, that lead out across a moat and into a wild open field. "So, how much longer do you think it will take for that idiot to get here?" Ness asked as the two began to walk towards town.

Link shrugged. "No idea. It all depends on the path he chooses."

The two players headed down the brick path until they walked into the middle of an open space in the middle of a town. All about them, old, medieval looking cottages and stores lined the streets. Players and NPCs alike sat on the sides of these houses, selling various items and weapons at low prices. There were four big stores in the middle of the square, two on each side, sharing the same large building. On the left side there was the armor and weapons shop, and on the right was the two floored items shop.

Beyond those two stores were two streets lined with more of the cottages of the town. These two roads lead to even more winding road, that lead to even more and more, until you finally reach the huge wall surrounds the entire city. Off in the distance, there was a lock metal gate, which lead to an open grassy hill. Sitting atop the hill was a large castle. Though the sight was from far away, one could make out a huge central tower, that appeared to shoot up into the very sky itself, with a bunch of smaller towers connecting to it through long, brick walkways.

The background music began to flood into Link and Ness's speakers. It was a very... bouncy tune, something you could run through the fields too. It suited the city's cheerful attitude. Once that had entered their speakers, soon after came the voices of many chatting players. "I'm sure you remember how annoying it was to complete that quest, Ness. One way leads to tough riddles, the other leads to tough battles."

Ness nodded. "Yeah... I guess."

The two walked over to the right street and took a seat down on the side of the weapons and armor shop. "I really don't see the point in inviting him to join, though." Ness added. "He's useless to us at his current level, right?"

"Ness, you're only level sixteen now..."

The boy looked over at the Hylian with a stern look in his eyes. "But you know how much help I am! I can even use my Final Smash! He can't yet. And if they're really getting stronger like Zelda said... then do we have the time to waste teaching him how to use his?"

"We have time." Link answered with a smile. "I don't even think we've found all of the avatars yet. Plus those wired things... and Broken Characters... there is much more going on in this game right now then we know."

"Yeah, but-"

"Ness..."

Ness turned to see a moderator look-a-like standing infront of him with a yellow and white dress. "Hey there, Nessy!" Greeted Daisy with a smile. "Oh, and Link too. Hey there, long time, no quest." She gave a wink to the Hylian who laughed in response.

"What do you want, Daisy?" Ness asked, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

Daisy sat down from across the two. "Oh, nothing. I just came here wondering... about those wired beasts." Link and Ness's attention suddenly went directly to the healer. "I see you've both heard of them."

Link smiled. "No, sorry! I haven't. I've only heard rumors about them on the forums." He said with a dopey grin while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Same here." Ness answered calmly.

"You're both lying, and I know it." Daisy said with a smirk. "Marth told me about the little adventure you and him had the other night, Link."

Link's goofy face quickly changed to a serious one as Ness looked up at Link worriedly. "Daisy..." He started. "I..."

"Before you start giving me all those lies, how about you just tell me the truth, kay?" Daisy asked with a grin. "How about you guys start by telling what they are. Some sort of random event, right? With a super cool prize?"

The Hylian continued to look sternly at the healer. "What happened the other night... is nothing of your concern." Link replied standing. Daisy looked confused and she was about to say something when Link cut her off, "Please, stay out of anything involving those wired monsters."

She looked up at the Hylian confused. "Huh? Hey why?!"

"Its dangerous for a player like yourself to get involved."

"What do you mean, 'like myself'?" Daisy yelled, standing up aswell. "Why can you deal with them, but I can not?"

"Ness told me that you encountered on of them, right?" She nodded. "That must be why you're so interested. Daisy, listen... drop the notion that this some sort of event. Don't contact Marth about this again. Forget that ever happened."

Daisy looked shocked. "Are you serious?!" She screamed, gathering the attention of some players passing by. "The wired beast that I couldn't harm, but the newbie could... the broken character showing up out of nowhere and destroying it... the way Marth's body was disappearing when he died! It's all so weird, how do you expect me to just stay out of it?!"

All of the yelling began to attract a crowd. Ness looked about nervously. "Link... too many people." He whispered, standing up.

But Link's face never changed from his stern glare at Daisy. "You said you couldn't harm it, right?" Daisy angrily nodded. "Then there you have it." She watched as the Hylian began to walk away. But before he left the area he shot her one last glare, his eyes with such force that it seem to pierce through the very monitor of Daisy's. "You're useless to us."

Daisy let out a loud gasp. "I'm... what?" She said weakly as her character fell to her knees.

"C'mon Ness." Link said as he began to walk away. "Zelda is waiting for us."

Ness nodded and chased after the swordsman while Daisy remained on the ground, staring at the brick road. Players who gathered around her began to ask, 'Are you okay', 'What did he do?' and 'Did he use an item on her?'. But Daisy didn't respond to them. She bit her thumb and looked up at the receding shadows of Link and Ness. "You two... I will find out what is going on. No matter what!" She then stood up and logged off, leaving the players wondering what had just happened.

"Don't you think that was a little hard on her?" Ness asked Link as the two made their way towards the white portal.

"It was for her own good." Link replied. "Who knows what dangers could happen if a normal player gets involved with the 'Event'."

When the two reached the portal, Ness was ready to warp off. "Ready?" He asked the Hylian.

"No... wait." Link paused for a few moments, checking something over. "Ness, go on ahead. I just noticed something I need to take care off. I'll join you in the field in a while."

Ness looked nervous. "Link... are you sure you're okay?" Link nodded. "...If you say so. I'll meet you infront of the castle, then."

"Okay. See ya." Link dissolved the party and Ness warped off.

--

Marth's blade sliced through the rotting body of a ReDead, cutting the creature in two. It let out a moan as it fell into halfs to the floor before exploding into pieces of colorful data. The four of them gained their EXP and began to walk on. "These fights are getting easier and easier..." Marth said as the group ventured deeper into The Lost Woods. "I bet I could solo them!"

"I'd like to see you try." Popo answered with a smirk, though it couldn't be seen in the darkness of the forest. "Lets see... we should be coming up to the crossroads now."

"Cro-Crossroads?" Jigglypuff asked confused.

Nana nodded. "Yes. You see, in this quest, you can choose to go one of two ways. Both ways lead to hard challenges, although they are all able to be completed."

"Which way are we going?" Marth asked.

Popo shrugged. "You're the leader. I suggest going left, though."

"Why?"

Before the mallet smasher could answer, the ground reached a fork in the road with a large stone in the middle of where the two paths diverge. "Oh. We're here."

Just as Popo spoke, at cutscene began. The sound of things rattling began to echo through-out the forest as a shadowy figure appeared upon the top of the stone. Marth took out his sword and pointed at the creature. "Who are you!" He was programmed to call.

The shadow figure began to giggle. Ther was a pulse of purple, which lifted the shadows from the figure. He wore a red tunic, with green gloves and red curled shoes. Below his tunic he wore green pants, that were ripped to give the appearance of grass. On its head it wore a hat that was shaped somewhat like a flower, and on its face it wore a mask shaped liked a purple heart with spikes and bulging eyes. "Hehehehe." It cackled as it twitched its head back and forth.

"What kind of creature is this?" Marth asked, gripping his sword tightly in both hands. "A demon? I see now why this forest is dangerous."

--

No... I mean, the hordes of walking corpses didn't give you a clue, huh Marth?

--

"Hehehehe." It cackled again. "Hello, weary travelers." It finally spoke. "Welcome to The Lost Woods. I see you've made it this far into the mysterious forest without becoming lost. But without my help, hehehehe, you shall remain lost in these woods forever." It laughed once more. "So will you trust me?" It quickly noticed the look of distrust upon Marth and his parties faces. "Hehehehe, is that a no?"

"How can we trust you, demon, when you have to give us your name!" Marth asked.

It cackled. "My name, I have none. I have forgotten it since I became lost in these woods. You can call me Skull Kid. And as for trusting me, hehehehe, you don't have much of a choice, or do you want to be lost forever?"

Marth put his sword back away. "What will you have us do, then?"

"To your left, there is a path. If you were to take it without my help, you would reach impassable boulders. I shall open them for you, if you can answer my riddles. Hehehehe. And to the right, the forests, which is filled with corpses, shall attack you and drag you into the darkness of the woods. With my help, I shall guide you through the maze of trees and bodies to make it out safely."

"Which way should we go, then?" Marth asked.

"Hehehehe... that is up to you, friend. But choose wisely. If you remain in these woods too long, you too shall join the ranks of the skull kids, and your bodies will be left to the forest!" As it cackled, more rustling began to be heard. The group began to glance around as more of the Skull Kids began to crawl out of the bushes. They each cackled in time, filling the air of the forest with an eerie laughter.

"What the!" Marth said, as he and his party drew their weapons.

"Do not worry, friends." Skull Kid spoke. "They shall not harm you... yet. But if you can not make it out of the woods by sunset, hehehehe, you shall become one of them!"

The Skull Kids all began to cackle once more as the cutscene ended. "Wow..." Jigglypuff muttered, clenching her staff tightly. "That was... kinda spooky."

"Well, this game is rated PA for Post-Adolescence." Nana answered with a smile. "It'll have some freaky things like that. It kinda made me a bit nervous, too. The first time I saw it, I mean."

"This isn't your first time doing this quest?" Marth asked.

Nana shook her head. "No. See, I'm a Mallet Smasher. Mallet Smashers are advance jobs, jobs you can only get once you've reached level seventy. Unlike the other jobs you can get at level twenty, you can only use that advance job by making a new character. So when we made our characters, we had to start back at level one."

"I see." Marth said as he looked over at Popo, who was busy tapping his foot. "That would explain why he's in such a rush. You've done this quest before, haven't you Popo?"

"Of course!" Answered the Mallet Smasher.

Marth nodded. "Alright then. I trust your judgement. We'll go to the left."

Popo smiled. "Kay, cool. I already know all the answers to the riddles, anyway."

And so, the ground set off down the left road. They continued walking into the darkness, looking left and right for any sign of the boulders or Skull Kid. After about five minutes of walking with no battles, Jigglypuff began to get worried. "Maybe we went the wrong way?" She suggested as they continued.

"Not likely." Popo commented. "Infact, look. Theres the first of the stones."

He pointed to a large round boulder that placed in the middle of the road. On both sides of the boulder were thick clumps of trees, the spaces between them too small for the characters to pass. As they approached the boulder, there as another pulse of purple energy and the Skull Kid appeared. "Hehehehe." He laughed. "Welcome to the first stone. Answer my riddle and I shall let you pass. How many letters does the right answer to this riddle have? You have three guesses..."

Marth and Jigglypuff glanced at each other with confused looks. Nana brought her hand to her chin and began to ponder the question. "...Oh, I know it."

Popo smirked. "Heh, this is the easiest one." He walked up to the rock and called out, "Four."

"Good Job, Good Job!" Cheered Skull Kid, who vanished in another purple pulse. "The next two will not be as easy!" As his voice echoed out, the front part of the stone fell forward, revealing a pathway the group could walk through.

"Oh. Hey, Popo, thats no fun!" Marth called out as they walked through the archway. "Let us try and answer the riddles. I know you know them all, but..."

Popo shook his head. "No, lets just get this quest over with."

"Oh, Popo, come on..." Nana said as they continued past the rock. "Why not let them have a little fun? I didn't know the answer right away, either."

"Hmph... well... if you say so, Nana. But if we use up two of our three guesses, I'm stepping in."

Marth smiled at Popo's comment. "Good. Now it'll be more fun!"

"So, um..." Jigglypuff began to ask. "How did you get that riddle? I didn't understand it..."

"Four is the only number that has the same amount of letters as the amount the number represents. Four letters to the number four." He explained. Marth and Jigglypuff both gave perplexed glances. "...It's really very easy if you think about it."

"...No its not!" Marth cried as the group continued on their way.

--

--Hyrule Castle--

Ness stood outside in the middle of a huge grassy field, staring up at the amazingly beautiful, yet very haunting Hyrule Castle. The weather around the tip of the castle was forever clouded, giving the look of a forsaken kingdom. Just then, the boy heard the sound of someone warping into the area. "You're late!" He cried, turning around to meet Link's face.

Link gave a laugh. "Yeah, yeah! Sorry. I just realized I was out of items and I needed to stock up." He answered with a smile.

"Took awful long to stock on items, eh?" Ness replied, raising his eyebrows. "Could it be that good ol' Link is really PKing in his spare time?"

"What?! Never!"

Ness broke out laughing at how defensive Link got over his joke. "Haha!"

"Let's just go in. I'm sure Zelda has been waiting long enough." Link said, cracking a smile at the laughing boy.

Link and Ness entered the huge castle and began to march down the long isle towards a single female hylian. "Oh, looks like we're the firsts one to arrive." Ness muttered as they continued forward.

"The tale of the godless twelve ended." Link called out as the two reached the end of the walkway.

"And the tale of the twenty-seven begins." Zelda turned around and smiled. "Oh, Link. Ness. Wonderful. I was wondering if anyone would arrive."

Ness glanced around the castle. "Yeah, it seems that we're the only ones here... where is Sheik? Luigi? Pit?"

Zelda shook her head. "I don't know. I sent them messages and not one of them have replied yet."

"It might be for the better." Link said with a smile. "You see, Marth has finally reached level ten! Infact, he's on his way to Hyrule right now!"

"Really?!" Zelda said with exicement filling her voice. She clasped her hands together infront of her chest and smiled. "That's excellent news!"

Link nodded in agreement while Ness shrugged. "I don't really see what the big deal is." He muttered, looking away. "He's just a newbie. Can't do much. And there is still no gaurentee that he'll even join the guild, y'know? All this build up will be for nothing."

Before Zelda could answer, the sound of another person warping into the area filled the quiet castle. The group turned to see a female human in a pink dress and blonde hair walking towards them. "Zelda." She said quietly as she apporched the three. "News."

"Yes, what is it, Peach?" Zelda asked, stepping down from her perch and walking to the other woman.

"Woah! No way that can be Peach!" Ness cried, looking shocked. "Peach... the system admin of Mushroom Kingdom!? What is SHE doing here?!"

"I have no clue!" Replied Link, who was in as much shock as Ness. "Zelda... whats going on?"

Zelda turned and smiled. "Oh. Sorry. Recently, Peach and I have been keeping in contact about where those wired monsters have been showing up."

"We call them 'Wire Frames' at the office." Peach added.

"Yes. She has been giving me the locations on where they show up. Did you really think I told you to go to Donut Hills on a lucky guess, Link?" Zelda asked. "Peach would be exploring these areas herself... but she's tied to her duties."

The administrator nodded. "Thats correct."

"So, even though you know the full scale of this problem..." Ness began. "You're still too busy dealing with setting up stupid events, instead of dealing with the things that could destroy the game, right?"

"Ness!" Zelda and Link called out in unison. But Peach seemed unphased by his comment.

"Please understand that the administrators are doing as much as we can to combat this problem." She explained calmly. "But you must understand, it is difficult for us to keep the game working, and solve this problem ourselves. That is why I have my two closest friends... and you, Zelda and the rest of your guild helping us out. And, you and I both know this... no matter how strong the administrator is, they will not be able to stand up to those creatures."

Ness crossed his arms and looked away. "Whatever." He muttered.

"That may be true, but why are you getting regular players like us involved?" Link asked. "I mean... I know our avatars aren't normal, but... yours isn't either, right? Why don't you just solve this problem while the others keep the game running?"

Peach looked confused. "Link... you should know that this battle is not just the administrators. Not to mention... its not possible for a single person to defeat this problem on their own."

Link blushed. "Oh, yeah... that was a kinda stupid question on my part. Hehe... but-"

"Oh!" Peach shouted quickly. "As much as I would like to answer more questions, my duties are calling. So please, allow me to deliver my message so I can be on my way. I promise I will return and answer any more questions you have later." Link and Ness both nodded reluctantly. "Thank you. Zelda. That area I told you we found traces of the Wire Frames..."

"Yes?"

"Well... its hard to say... but it seems it's no longer there." Zelda looked puzzled as Peach began to explain. "You see, not too long ago, a player got to where the Wire Frame was, and managed to not only defeat it, but got those Broken Characters to show up and delete the beast. If that isn't odd enough, the player tried to capture the Broken Character, for reasons unknown with what I presume to be a hack."

"Do you know who it was?" Zelda asked, to which Peach shook her head. "Oh."

"Their data was too well protected. We couldn't find his GID number, or his account number. I believe it was one of Bowsers hackers, it seemed to be the same type of hack he would use." She took a breath and continued on, "However, I have no conclusive evidence that this person was indeed a Warlock. And as such, I can not put that down on record as of yet. Still, it's a pretty good chance it was."

Zelda pondered the thought for a little bit. "...Okay. Is that all?" Peach nodded. "Very well. Thank you, Peach."

"It's no problem. I will keep you posted on any other areas." Peach waved good bye and turned, heading down the main hallway towards the door.

"That was very odd..." Zelda said once the mage had left, crossing her arms. "...It seems that Bowser really has been taking an interest in the 'event' since Sheik and Pit failed to get the stone. We'll have to keep our eyes open for him at all times, got it?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Ness and Link replied, saluting the arcane Hylian.

Zelda let her arms fall to her sides. "Well... it seems there was no point to call the guild together today. You two can go back to leveling up if you want."

"Hey, hey! There is still a point!" Link called out. "We can make a welcome party, for Marth! Y'know, make him feel like the guild is ready to greet him with open arms." Ness rolled his eyes and Zelda smiled.

"Good idea. Alright then... I'll continue to try and get in contact... Oh! Look at that." She started to giggle. "Pit just sent me a whisper. He's on his way."

Link smiled. "Alright then! Zelda, you gather the other members." The swordsman began to walk towards the open doors of the castle. "I'm gonna go wait in town for Marth!"

Zelda nodded. "Alright. We'll be waiting here."

"Hey wait! Don't I get a say in this!?" Ness yelled, looking helplessly at Link, then back to Zelda, who smiled and replied,

"No."

--

--The Lost Woods--

Marth and his party continued on forward. "Hey, Popo..." Marth muttered, looking over the shoulder of the mallet smasher. "We're not lost, are we?"

"Of course not!" He called out with a smile.

"Then, where are we?"

Popo's happy face turned nervous. "Shouldn't we have passed the second boulder by now?" Jigglypuff asked.

"Yeah... Popo..." Nana inched closer to their leader, her mallet slowly being raised into a fighting position. "We're not lost, right? We _can't _be lost, right? Right!?"

"We're not lost!" Popo replied, this time not as confident. "I'm just... taking the safer route. Y'know, so we _don't _get lost. The forest gets very confusing." He said with a nod or two. "This path is just longer because... there are no false paths you can take that will lead you away! Yeah!..."

The three others exchanged worried glances as Popo continued to march bravely into the dark forest.

CONTINUE...?


	11. LOGIN 10

Disclaimer: Super Smash Brothers IS mine. I just bought it. OFF EBAY :D

A/N: Due to the fact I was so pressed for time, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter: Special thanks to the beta reader :D Cause this one is cooler then my normal one and deserves praise (and a cookie. Now that I own SSB, I'll stay up, night and day until I can bring the smashers out of the world of video game and into the real world, just so I can give you that Bowser made cookie.) Life is precious :D

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #10: To Hyrule! - Part Two**

**--**

**--**The Lost Woods--

"See!" Popo exclaimed, pointing up at a huge boulder that stood in between them and the path to Hyrule. "I told you I knew where we were going."

"Yeah... after you had to take a ten minute bathroom break." Marth said, eyeing the players carefully. "Thats totally not enough time to check online for maps and guides to help us out on how to get there."

Popo crossed his arms in a huff. "Well... its not my fault I have bladder problems."

"It's true, he does have them." Nana agreed with a nod, causing the boy to blush a red so deep that his face could barely be seen in the dark forest.

"Shut it Nana!" Popo yelled causing the female to laugh.

Jigglypuff as well let out a slight giggle as Marth apporched the huge boulder that stood in the way. "Ready guys?" The group stopped their laughing and nodded, all taking a step forward to fill in behind Marth.

There was a pulse of purple energy and soon appearing above the rock was the floating NPC known as Skull Kid. "Hehehehe." Cackled the little boy-looking creature. "You've made it far, my friends. But now, can you answer my second riddle?"

"Bring it." Marth said with a smirk.

"I can not been seen by the likes of you..." Began the Skull Kid. "But its said that ever creature has me. My existence is still under much debate, yet I have my own style of music. What am I? Hehehehe... you have three guesses."

Marth looked stumped. He glanced behind him and looked over at Jigglypuff, who shrugged, then at Nana, who was pondering the question. "Popo, you know the answer to it, right?" He nodded. "Okay. So anyone got a clue?" A moment passed and no one answered.

"I think the answer to the riddle lies in what he said at the end of it." Nana finally said, breaking the silence. "The part 'I have my own style of music' is what throws me off. I was at first thinking a name... but then the second part destroyed that theory."

Marth agreed. "I was thinking maybe like a spirit or time, or something, but... yeah, neither a spirit nor time doesn't have its own style of music, right?" Nana and Jigglypuff shook their head. "So... then what."

"It's really not that hard, y'know." Popo said with a shrug. "I got it much faster."

"A voice, maybe?" Jigglypuff suggested. "I mean, we can't see it... and we all have one... and you can sing with it."

Nana nodded. "Yes, but... since when as our voice been under debate of it's existence?"

"Oh, thats right..." Jigglypuff muttered, lowering her head. "Sorry..."

"Then again, if you think about it..." Marth said, bringing his hand to his chin. "It may be voice. Since people still debate over whether or not animals can communicate through their grunts and moans in a way that we do."

The Mallet Smasher in pink raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought most people almost all agreed on that answer..."

Marth shrugged. "Well... there might be some who don't. I'm just guessing. It's worth a shot, y'know."

Nana didn't seem to thrilled with Marth and Jigglypuff's answer, but she slowly nodded. "Alright. Give it a shot then. The worst we could be is wrong, anyway."

The blue haired human nodded and stepped up to the stone. "Voice!" He called out to the Skull Kid.

"Hehehehe... WRONG!" Skull Kid snapped his fingers and the ground around Marth and his party transformed into quick sand.

"What the-!" They called out as they slowly began to sink into the sand. "Aahh!"

Skull Kid couldn't help but giggle. "You have two more guesses. Use them wisely, friends."

Marth turned around and faced his sinking party members. "O-Okay! It wasn't voice!"

"Then what could it be!?" Jigglypuff cried out in a panic. Nana tried to calm her down, but she too was starting to get a little nervous over failing the quest.

"Popo... can you give us any hints?" Marth asked after the group finished their panic.

Popo laughed. "I thought you guys wanted to solve this on your own! Haha... well, alright." He calmly began to reveal his hint, "Well... instead of focusing on the whole 'it doesn't exist' part or anything, why don't you guys just start by... listing different types of musics?" Popo suggested.

"Different types of music?" Marth looked confuse. "Well... alright. Let's see." He began to count on his fingers as he listed types of music. "Theres rock... and rap... and heavy metal... and folk..."

Nana continued for the swordsman. "Blues, Jazz-"

"J-Pop!" Jigglypuff blurted, gaining the attention of her party members. "...Sorry."

"Well, yeah..." Nana continued, "Blues, Jazz, J-Pop, Pop itself, Reggae, Ska, Soul, Tencho... Disco... um..." Nana paused to think of more. "Contemporary?"

"Ragtime, Punk, Classical..." Marth added, scratching the back of his head. "I don't see where this is going. How is this suppose to help us, Popo."

Before he could answer, Jigglypuff let out a small yelp. "Oh! Nana. Could you repeat you're list to me? I think... I know..." She asked.

Nana looked confused, but nodded. "Alright. Blues, Jazz, J-Pop, Pop, Reggae..." Her eyes shot wide open as something in her mind clicked. "...Of course!" She slapped herself on the forehead and began to laugh. Jigglypuff smiled and knowing that her guess was correct, she began to wade her away across the quicksand up to the boulder. "Marth, you weren't far off with your first spirit guess."

"Huh?" Marth turned to see Jigglypuff calling out her answer. "What was it?"

"Soul!"

As she called out, Skull Kid began to cackle again. He stood up and clapped as the quicksand vanished and an archway appeared in the boulder. "Very good, friends! But still one riddle awaits you! The hardest yet, hehehehe, you shall not get! Good Luck!"

"Good job, Jigglypuff." Praised Popo as he once again took the lead and began to march through the forest. "I was a little shock you didn't get it sooner though, Nana. As for you Marth..." He turned and smiled at the swordsman. "I'm not too surprised with your results! Although I was impressed you were on the right track so early."

"Um..." Marth raised an eyebrow. "Thank... you?"

Popo turned back to the road and started up a new path. "This way guys. We're only a riddle away from arriving in Hyrule!"

--

--Hyrule Castle--

Outside of the castle, Peach made her way down the grassy hill, staring up into the cloudy sky. "I guess this is far enough from any players to see." She reached her hand out and caused a white orb to float out from her palm. The orb traveled forwards a bit, and then transformed into a large, oval portal, with the image of the Mushroom Kingdom in the middle of it.

"Mingling with normal players again, I see. Haven't you learned yet, Peach?"

Peach froze as she was getting in the portal. She turned around with a shocked expression as she came face to face with another system administrator in tight purple spandex. "...Oh. What do you want, Falcon?"

Character: Captain Falcon  
Race: Human  
Level: 100  
Class: Blackbelt/Buffer  
HP: 755  
MP: 500

The man, named Captain Falcon, took a few steps up to the woman. "Oh, nothing." Falcon replied, crossing his arms. "I just came around to play with the normal players is all. You know, like we're suppose to do?" Peach glared at Captain Falcon, who smirked at her response. "Peach... why are you still doing this?"

"Doing what?" She answered quickly.

"Informing the normal players about something that the system administrators should be taking care of." He replied.

Peach couldn't help but laugh. "You of all people should know that this is above the power of the system administers, Douglas!" She said, calling out the players real name. "You were present the first time this event happened. You know the admins can only do so much. You and I are the only ones who can truly do more then a normal player."

"Well, then, Pauline..." Captain Falcon said, taking a few steps to the left, while thinking of his answer. "The last time this happened, I couldn't do this." He bent down and ripped out a good chunk of the grass from the field. He closed his fist around it and when he reopened his hand, the grass was destroyed and broke up into little blocks of data in his palm.

"You know you can't just delete those creatures!" Peach cried. "We don't know how to destroy them yet! And they have enough power to bypass our own protections and delete other players! The only avatars that can deal any damage to them are those chosen by the game itself!"

Captain Falcon pointed an accusing finger at Peach. "And THATS why we should be working on finding methods to either copy their avatar's data, or asking the players to give their avatars to the system administrators... instead of filling their minds with these thoughts of taking the game problems into their own hands."

Peach was about to call back when something caught her eye. Captain Falcon also noticed and turned around. They saw Link run out of the castle and into the large grassy field. The Hylian took a quick glance over at the two and muttered something to himself before he disappeared, being swallowed by a green warp pipe. "...Where is he going?" Peach asked herself.

"Who cares." Replied Captain Falcon, turning back to the other admin. Peach opened her mouth but was cut off again by something appearing on her monitor. She glanced up to the left, showing that she was reading the message. "Something wrong?"

"I've got to get back to my server." She replied, turning around. "Ashley just told me that the boss is on his way down the hall."

Captain Falcon nodded. "Alright. But we're not done with this, Peach." Peach didn't answer. Instead she walked into the portal and vanished. Falcon sighed and held his hand up to the sky and he himself vanished in a flash of light.

--

The group continued on their way through the extremely dark and forsaken woods. "Popo, how close are we to the next boulder quiz place?" Marth asked, sighing in boredom as they walked. "Maybe we should have chosen the fighting path, now that I think about it..."

"WERE NOT LOST!" Popo cried.

"I know we're not. I trust you navigation skills completely." Marth replied with a smile. "Thats why we've been wandering around in this forest for about an hour or so. We're just enjoying the sights. I mean, it's been so long since I've seen a tree with a knothole in it. I mean, when did we see the last one? Like ten seconds ago?"

Popo was about to answer, but he quickly came to a stop. "Hold on a moment..." He said meekly.

The swordsman nodded. "Kay." Popo's avatar sat on the ground as his player left the keyboard in the real world.

"So, um..." Jigglypuff began, looking about the dark woods. "Nana, how do you and Popo know each other?"

Nana looked surprised. "That's kind of a rude question." Jigglypuff gave a confused stare. "It's not rude to me, but thats not just something you go about asking random people on an online game, you know."

"OH!" She cried out. "Sorry! I- I didn't mean to! Oh, I feel bad."

The mallet smasher laughed. "No, no. It's okay." Nana looked up into the dark leaves of the trees. "It's just some people might take offense. Well... what we are in real life isn't important. But in the game, we're brother and sister. And since we're not in the real world right now, then thats what we are." She looked over at the two. "As long as we're playing this game, Popo and I are brother and sister. And thats all you need to know, right?"

Jigglypuff nodded. "Alright. Thats cool."

"Uh oh..." Popo muttered as he stood up.

"Whats wrong, Popo?" Asked Nana as she walked over to her 'brother'.

Popo sighed. "Well... you know. We're running out of time."

"Huh?!" Marth exclaimed. "Theres a time limit on this quest?"

"No... not that." Popo shook his head again and began to run down the path. "Hurry guys!"

Marth and Jigglypuff looked confused. Nana caught on and explained. "You see, Popo is currently playing his character at his job. His break is about to end... and if he doesn't get back to work as soon as his break is over, he may get fired."

"Then we better get a move on." Marth said as he broke out into a run after Popo. "Let's go!" He called as he disappeared into the distance.

"Wait up, Marth!" Jigglypuff cried as she and Nana picked up speed and chased after the two other party members.

--

--Bowser's Castle--

Bowser sat alone in this throne room atop the very highest tower in his castle. In real life, his player was busy going over computer files and logs of the game, in an attempt to find out where and when the next location of the Wire Frames will be. His silence was ruined soon by another player warping into his throne room. "Lord Bowser." He heard a voice call.

The hacked character didn't move at first, but after a moment, he snapped back to life. "Who goes? Ah, Deceiver! What a wonderful surprise it is to see you."

The player who had warped in was slightly shorter then Bowser, standing with a thick black cloak covering him. His figure more then likely meant he was a Human or Hylian, and upon his hood he brandish the bold number one. "Heh. I bet it is."

"What brings you to my castle?" Bowser asked, getting up off the throne and walking towards his number one warlock.

Deceiver held out his hand. In his palm was a small, diamond shaped item. "It didn't work." He said calmly.

"Really? My net didn't work?" Bowser reached out and took the item for himself. Certain items, such as hacking tools, could not be traded in the normal way of an item. "I see. Tell me, what happened."

"I followed your instructions and went to the area on Kongo Jungle called Hot-Top Volcano." He began to explain. "I found the Wire Frame called WirFra./YOCHEE and battled it. In the end, I managed to defeat it. But when the Broken Character arrived... the net failed to capture it." Crossing his arms he finished, "It seems they're harder to capture then we thought."

Bowser nodded and walked over to his throne. "I will have my hackers work on this and improve on it. Thank you for testing it out, Deceiver."

"No problem."

Bowser placed the item in mid-air. It floated for a bit, then disappeared as a white box surrounded it and teleported away. "You can stay if you'd like. It could very well be only a matter of minutes before either my hackers complete their update... or even the location of another Wire Frame is revealed to us."

Deceiver crossed his arms again. "Mmm..."

"Something wrong?"

"Well..." He put his hand on his hip, pausing to think of a way to approach the question, and then began to explain, "I have... somewhere I'm suppose to be."

Bowser turned. "A previous engagement?"

"Yes." Deceiver answered with a nod. "I've got to keep up playing the game normally, you know. So that I don't become a suspect of being part of your guild and banned by the system administrators."

Bowser chuckled. "Oh, please. You? Banned? Highly unlikely."

"You never know." Answered Deceiver with a shrug.

"Well, alright then. Go to your party - or whatever it is." Bowser said, dismissing his Warlock with a wave of his claw. He turned back to his throne and began to walk up towards it. "I just hope you aren't betraying us. I didn't give you that name for just any reason, my friend." As Bowser sat on his throne, he eyed the cloaked man. "You aren't, are you?"

Deceiver chuckled. "Like I just said. You never know."

"Bwahaha!" Cackled the beast, clapping his claws. "Good, good! Very well, Deceiver. You are dismissed." The Deceiver bowed and warped out of the room. "...So it seems that these characters are alot harder to capture then what I originally believed." He brought his folded claws up to his snout and growled. "This might be more troublesome then I thought..."

"Lord Bowser!"

Bowser turned to see one of his hacker lackies walk into the room. "What is it?"

"I'm just bringing you notification from our hacking section that we received your item and are currently working on fixing the problem right now." Bowser gave the player a blank look. "Uh... we're doing the best we can and we should have it done within the week sir." He continued to stare at his servant with a blank look on his face. "Uh... thats it?"

"...Good job, do you want a cookie?" Bowser asked, raising an eyebrow. "Cause I could make one, you know..." The servant shook his head quickly and left the chamber, fearing for his character's life. "...So hard to find good help these days."

--

"This it?"

"Yes!"

"Finally."

"I told you I knew where I was going."

The four party members found themselves standing infront of the final large boulder. Marth apporched the stone, causing the mysterious Skull Kid NPC to appear, floating above the stone as he did the other two. "Hehehehe." It cackled, clapping its hands together. "You have reached the final stone. But now, my friends, you're fate is put on the line. If you get this riddle wrong, then you shall remain here with us forever!"

"Just tell us the riddle." Marth called out.

"He can't hear you..." Nana whispered to Marth. "He's an NPC."

"..." Marth glared at the mallet smasher who giggled and took a step away.

"Here is your final riddle." Spoke the Skull Kid. "It is at the beginning of eternity, its the end of time and space. It's the beginning of everywhere and at the end of everyplace. What is it?"

"Huh?!" Cried all four of the players, each giving their own shocked gasp.

Skull Kid began to jump up and down. "Hehehehe. You have three guesses! Good luck."

Marth brought his hand to his forehead. "Oh geez... this riddle... it makes my head hurt. No wonder it's the last riddle. Real tough."

Jigglypuff nodded. "Yeah."

"I don't even get this one." Nana said, looking at the forest floor confused. She looked up and glanced over at the other mallet smasher and asked, "Popo, you know the answer right?"

But Popo was doing as just Nana was doing - staring at the forest ground confused. "I... well..." He turned towards the other three hopefully looking faces and gave a nervous smile. "This is a new riddle. They must have changed it, haha..."

The three others' faces took a grim expression. "...And that means?" Nana finally asked.

"I don't know it."

Marth and Jigglypuff gave each other worried stares as Nana crossed her arms and sighed. "It figures..." She muttered. "Well then... let's get to work on guessing."

The group went silent, each of their players trying to find an answer to this difficult riddle. "Well... knowing these riddles, its totally going to be something that we're going to kick ourselfs over when we find out what it is." Popo answered, breaking the silence.

"So we should think of a more... common answer?" Jigglypuff suggested, at which Popo nodded.

"I highly doubt this answer is going to be something complex... then again, it may. Who knows."

Another break of silence. "Anyone have any ideas?" Marth finally asked.

"I think its a mother." Jigglypuff said. "Since within a mother's womb is where life seems to be created... it could be where entirety begins, since thats where human life begins, right?"

"What about the end of time and space part?" Nana asked.

"Well... I don't think time and space would exist within a mother's womb, do you?" She asked, to which Nana shrugged. "I don't know, thats just my guess. What are yours? I don't want to suggest anything that could be wrong."

Nana looked worried. "Mine is a bed."

"How did you arrive at that, Nana?" Marth asked, confused.

"When you go to sleep, time and space seem to stop. You're dreams are endless, like eternity..." She explained. "So, it could be a bed, since we all are pretty much born in beds also... and we tend to die in bends, or atleast in some way end up laying down before our bodies are destroy. So that could justify for the end of everywhere part of the riddle."

Marth nodded. "I didn't even think of that." He then turned to Popo and asked, "And how about you?"

Popo shook his head. "I highly doubt its as complicated as Jigglypuff's answer. Nana's could be right, I suppose. What I think it could be is some sorta of... god answer. Like, a god, or an alpha-omega, or something like that." But then he shook his head again and said, "However, for that to be the answer of the last riddle... it makes no sense. That seems to be the simplest answer ever."

"The beginning of eternity... the end of time and space..." Marth muttered to himself. "How could anything be the start of something that goes on forever, and the end of something that goes on forever?"

The blue mallet smasher suddenly shot up. "A circle!" He exclaimed. "That has no beginning, no end. And its simple enough to make us go, 'Oh, yeah, duh!' if it was the right answer." He turned to Marth and smiled. "Try that?"

Marth looked over at the other two, who seemed to agree with Popo's answer. "Alright." Marth took a few steps forward and shouted up to Skull Kid, "A CIRCLE!"

Skull Kid cackled and began to clap. "Very good, very good!" He called out.

The blue haired swordsman smiled and turned to his party. "Hey, we were rig- ehh?" Marth's sentence was cut short but a huge, metal thing poking him in his back. He turned around to see a canon facing the group. Skull Kid sat near the fuse of the canon with it's finger lit on fire, hovering near the wick.

"Very good guess! But guess again, friends! Hehehehe."

Marth took a step back. "Okay, so it's not circle... Anymore guesses?"

Nana and Jigglypuff shrugged as Popo shook his head. "Nope. Not us." Nana said. "You could try one of our guesses... But I highly doubt either of them is right."

The human swordsman grimaced. "It's not like we have a choice, you know. I'll try your guess, Nana. Jigglypuff, yours doesn't seem to cover all the bases as well as her does. And it's way to complicated." Jigglypuff nodded and Marth called out, "A BED!"

Skull Kid giggle, then lit the fuse on fire, causing Marth and his party to jump backwards. "Nice try, but the next wrong answer, and then you die! Hehehehe!" It cackled.

"Damn it! We need the right answer like right now!" Marth said in a panic, backing away from the fizzling canon.

"Relax." Popo said calmly. "It won't fire unless we get the next guess wrong." Marth looked slightly relieved, but Popo's face stayed stern. "But we still need to hurry... my break is almost over."

Marth gulped. "Uh-oh..." He, as well as the group exchanged worried looks at the sound of the shorting fuse filled their headsets.

--

Luigi slammed the doors of Hyrule Castle open and began to run down the long strip of carpet to Zelda. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry I'm laaaate!"

Zelda turned as she, Ness and Pit watched the plumber looking human dash up to the group. She smiled as he fell on the ground, his avatar out of breath. "You're not late, Luigi. Didn't you check my message? We canceled the meeting for today."

"We did?!" He shouted, looking up in shock. "Oh... but why are these two here?"

"We're here just because we like the background music." Pit explained with a nod.

Ness sighed and Zelda continued, "Well... we may be getting a new member today."

"Really?!" Luigi exclaimed, jumping up off the ground. "...Is it going to be Pit?"

"No."

"I see. THATS COOL!" Pit glared at Luigi, who quickly realized his error in speech. "I, um, didn't mean it like that."

Pit began to sulk. "I don't get it, Zelda. You're letting some new player join the guild, but you still refuse on letting me join it, even though I'm pretty much part of the guild now, anyway?"

"If you're part of the guild, do you really need to join it?" Zelda rationalized.

The angel huffed and crossed his arms defeated. "So, who is this new member?" Luigi asked.

"He's part of the 'Event'... the blue haired swordsman. His name is Marth."

Luigi crossed his arms. "Marth, huh? ...I see."

Zelda nodded. "We're going to hold him a welcoming party to Hyrule. Perhaps he'll feel welcomed enough by the guild that he'll want to join."

Ness growled and took a few steps away from the other three. "Newbies..." He muttered under his breath. "Always needing their hands to be held... Bah. I guess that runt is no different then."

"What was that, Ness?" Zelda asked, looking over in the boys direction.

Ness shook his head. "Nothing... How much longer till he gets here? It didn't take me this long to finish Epona's Run."

"I heard the server admin recently changed up the spawn and the riddles to make the tougher." Pit said. He paused and thought about it a little more. "Now that I think about it... he only updated it today."

Zelda looked puzzled. "Hm. Well, then I hope Marth can mange to make it through the woods then. It would be a real shame if we've all gathered here for nothing, right guys?" Pit and Luigi nodded while Ness just sighed again. Zelda smiled at her guild and turned back to face the large stain-glass window. "Alright then... only a little while longer till he arrives."

--

Marth and his party sat on the forest ground, each deep in thought about the riddle, the only sound filling the forest was that of the sound of the fizzling canon. "...Everyone still doesn't have a clue, huh?" Marth asked, glancing around the circle of players. Nana and Jigglypuff shook their heads while Popo hollered,

"If we DID, we would TELL YOU ALREADY!" The group looked over at the mallet smasher in shock, who blushed and looked away. "I'm... sorry. It's just I really don't have any more time left. If my boss catches me on..."

Nana inched closer to her ingame brother. "Popo... you can log off, if you want. Marth, Jigglypuff and I will finish the quest, and I'll redo this quest with you a bit later, when you get off from work, okay?"

Popo grumbled something then shook his head. "No. I can't do that. I like to make sure to stick to things through the end." He stood up and pointed at the sizzling canon. "WE'RE GOING TO GET THIS RIDDLE RIGHT AND MOVE ON!"

"Hehehehe." Cackled the Skull Kid. Although it was programmed to cackle, it's timing couldn't be better.

Marth stood up aswell. "Maybe Link or someone will know the answer." Marth typed out his message with the keyboard and sent his whisper to the green hylian swordsman.

>MARTH: Can u help us w/ the final riddle to Epona's Run?  
>While in THE LOST WOODS, you can only call out for help, but no one can return to save you

"What the?"

"Yeah, we're blocked from getting whispers." Popo explained a bit too late. "As long as we're in this board, we can send whispers, but can not receive them."

The swordsman sighed. "Wonderful. So we can't use any outside help..."

Jigglypuff looked about the forest. "...Then we'll have to solve it the normal way." She said, standing up. "Like Popo said earlier... the answer is likely to be something that we'll kick ourselves over after this quest is complete. Right, Popo?"

Popo nodded. "Yes. If you think about it, the other two riddles seemed like difficult answers, but if you knew what it was talking about, it was very simple." He turned to look at the canon, the cackling Skull Kid and the large impassable boulder. "I'm sure there is a stupid catch to this riddle also."

"It can't be something too overly complicated." Nana suggested as she joined the trio. "Our original guesses were too complex. This game is played by people of all ages and of different backgrounds. Different world views... the games programers wouldn't choose the answer to be something controversial like we suggested."

"And lets look back at the other riddles." Popo added. "Infact, all riddles in general. The riddle itself tells you the answer. Like the first two."

"Well they'd be unanswerable if they didn't, wouldn't they Popo?" Marth replied with a slight taunting tone.

Popo rolled his eyes. "Well, the first one told you what the answer was. The second described to us what the answer was. So... how about we look at the riddle instead of looking for an answer right now?"

"That seems to be the only choice we have." Marth said. "Let me go grab some paper..."

--

I reached over to the left side of my desk and pull a piece of paper out from the printer. I picked up my black pen and began to scribble down the riddle. "It is at the beginning of entirety, its the end of time and space." I spoke as I wrote down the riddle. "...It says its at the beginning of eternity... ugh... what the hell could that be."

I shrugged it off and wrote some more, "It's the beginning of everywhere and at the end of everyplace... What the hell is it?"

"Got any ideas yet, Marth?" I heard Jigglypuff ask from the game.

"No, not yet." I replied.

I looked over the paper. Taking my pen, I drew a line in between the first sentence and the last sentence. "There, maybe that will make things easier... I'll focus on the first part of the sentence, first."

"Good luck." Nana said.

"HURRY!" Cried Popo.

I nodded though they could not see me and began to scan over the first part of the riddle. "It's at the beginning of eternity. And its also at the end of time and space. It's at the beginning of eternity and the end of time and space..." I kept repeating myself, hoping some odd door would fly open in my mind.

What could be at the beginning of eternity and the end of time and space? How could something that has no end have the ending of two other things that shouldn't end as its beginning? "ACK! I just confused myself!" I screamed, grabbing the sides of my head.

Popo sighed. "Think HARDER! I want you to think so hard you have a brain freeze!"

I kept tapping my pen over the words of the riddle and repeating myself, "The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space..."

My ramblings soon turned into scribbling as I continued to write down the phrase over and over on the paper. "It's at the beginning of eternity... and at the end of time and space..."

THUD

I slammed my head onto the desk and moaned. "I don't get it at all..." I said groggily, causing my teammates to sigh. "How could such a complex riddle have an easy answer?"

"Try looking at the riddle literately." Nana suggested. "Stop trying to find an answer, just look it over and see what it is."

Lifting my head, I began to tap my pen infront of the word entirety. "It's at the beginning of eternity..." I muttered as I moved my pen to the other words. "The end of time and space." I started tapping near the end of the sentence out of confusion. "...Hey, wait."

That couldn't be it, could it?

I went back to the first part of the sentence. "It's at the beginning of eternity... it's at the end of time and space..." I checked the bottom half of the riddle. "...Its at the beginning of everywhere... and its at the end of everyplace! I GOT IT GUYS!"

--

"I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" Marth shouted, jumping about the forest like a giddy school girl.

"Really?!" Nana and Jigglypuff shouted in disbelief.

Marth nodded. "Yup! And you guys ARE going to kick yourself when you find out the answer!"

Popo lifted his mallet up to Marth's blue hair. "Just make sure you got it right, 'kay little boy? Or else I'll pound your head in."

Popo's threat came off as a mild joke to Marth, who simply smiled and hugged the little man. "Oh, no, I know I got it right! I did, I did!"

Marth whimsically made his way up to the front of the canon and placed his hands on his hips. A huge smile was strung across his face as he boldly began to shoot out the answer. "We're doomed..." Muttered the other three as they covered their ears, awaiting the canon shot.

Marth took in a deep breath and shouted,

"THE LETTER 'E'!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Cried the others in shock.

Skull Kid suddenly began to cackle and clapped. "VERY GOOD! VERY GOOD!" It shouted, floating up into the air as the canon disappeared. "You've passed my last riddle! Amazing, friends! Go, now! Go through the boulder!" The boulder's center disappeared and an archway took it's place. "Go, now, to Hyrule!"

Marth smiled and continued to walk through the boulder. He had barely passed through when he was pulled back by the hand of Nana. "What kind of ridiculous riddle answer was that?!" She exclaimed, staring at the perplexed Marth.

"Well, think about it." Marth said as he turned around to face the others. "The letter E... it appeared in the beginning of eternity, and at the ends of time and space. It appears at the beginning of everywhere and at the end of everyplace."

Nana just stared. "Ha! I knew it had to be some stupid answer." Said Popo as he walked past his confused sister. "The letter E... who would have guessed. I'm gonna have to ask my friends that riddle later."

"Look, guys!" Jigglypuff called out as she took the lead. She pointed ahead to a bright orange light at the end of a long tunnel of the trees. "I think thats the exit! We made it to the end!"

The group began to pick up speed, the light of the exit coming closer and closer with ever step. Finally, Marth and his party emerged from the dark forest and into the field open field of Hyrule. Marth looked about the field and smiled. "Finally! We made it!" Infront of them were large white walls, turned golden in the setting sun. Near them there was a hill, which ontop of which was a ranch. "That must be Lon-Lon Ranch!" Marth cried, taking a few steps towards the ranch.

He only managed to take a few steps before a cut-scene began. Marth and his friends began to dash up the hill, but were stopped mid run by a pulse of purple energy. Floating infront of the group was Skull Kid, who was clapping and chuckling to himself. "Skull Kid..." Marth spoke. "Thank you for your help, Skull Kid."

"No, no, friends! Hehehehe, I should be thanking you!" Skull Kid said, clapping some more.

"I do not mean to be rude, but I thought your soul was bound to the forest?" Marth asked. "Should you not return to where you belong?"

Skull Kid began to laugh. It continued to laugh until it fell over, holding its sides. "Hehehehe, you see, friends, with you successfully exiting the forest, so too did my soul! I am no longer bound to the woods! I am free atlast!" Skull Kid floated into the air and crossed it's legs, cupping its chin and looking away. "I must think of a way to repay you, travelers, for this."

Marth smiled. "There is no need for a reward. But, if I may suggest something, please stand aside. We are in a rush to-"

His sentence was cut off by Skull Kid floating forward. "I know, I know!" It announced. "I'll repay you and your party by devouring your souls quickly!"

"What!?" Marth shouted in shock, taking a step back.

Skull Kid lifted its right hand and began to cackle. A large gray circle began to appear floating above its hand. "Hehehehehehehehe..." As the cackling continued it changed from that of an innocent sounding child to that of a demonic creature. "Farewell, friends!" The huge orb began to slowly turn around, revealing eyes, a nose and an evil smile. As it showed the face of the orb, the cutscene ended.

"What the..." Called Marth as he took out his sword. "Aw man, I thought Skull Kid was good!"

"Well... what kind of quest would be complete without an epic boss battle?" Popo asked with a smirk as he lifted his mallet. "Ready guys? Let's pound his face in quickly!"

The heart-pounding battle music began. Marth targeted the cackling Skull Kid and charged forward with Popo and Nana following closely behind, their mallets glowing as they dashed across the field. Jigglypuff remained in the back, holding her staff tightly in both hands. "TAKE THIS!" Screamed the Skull Kid and it launched the huge gray orb towards them.

"We've gotta dodge it!" Nana cried as the orb began to roll towards them at high speed. Marth and Popo rolled over onto the right while Nana dodged to the left, all three of them barely missing becoming flattened. Jigglypuff had a longer warning period and was able to run away from the orb before it even came close to her.

Marth stood up off the ground and ran at Skull Kid. He swiped his blade across the monsters body three times, dealing a total of 70 damage to the boss and lowering it's HP only slightly. "It's strong!" Marth yelled as Skull Kid held out its hand. It touched Marth's chest and with a pulse of purple energy, sent him flying backwards and dealing a heavy amount of damage.

"LIFE UP ALPHA!"

Skull Kid turned to face Jigglypuff's direction, but his view was quickly blocked by a mallet slamming into his face. Popo prepared for another swing as Nana herself swung, dealing double damage to the beast in half the time. The two managed to swap blows on the beast two more times before Skull Kid sent them flying away with another pulse of energy.

Jigglypuff pointed her staff at the two. "LIFE UP-" Before she could finish calling out her attack, Skull Kid launched forward and delivered a punch right into the chest of the fallen Popo. Popo's character screamed in pain and his HP fell to, according to the HP bar, 3. "ALPHA!" Her healing spell recovered the Mallet Smasher just as Skull Kid was preparing another punch.

The punch never hit the weakened warrior, however, as Nana managed to swing her glowing hammer into the side of Skull Kid. "ICICLE CRASHER!" She called, knocking the monster into the air and causing his HP bar to decrease.

Skull Kid cackled as it flew upwards and looked as if it was about to prepare another attack. Marth charged in from the left. "DOLPHIN SLASH!" swinging his blade at the mid-air monster. Skull Kid was knocked to the left and fell to the ground with a thud, interrupting his charging move.

"LIFE UP ALPHA! LIFE UP ALPHA!" Jigglypuff's aura's healed both Marth and Nana as the two neared in on the wounded Skull Kid.

Skull Kid laughed and floated back into the air. He caused another smiling orb to appear above his hand and hurled it at the two waiting fighters. Nana and Marth each jumped to opposite sides, avoiding the huge orb as it rolled harmlessly away. Skull Kid growled and was preparing another attack, this one aimed at Marth. "Die die!" It called out, pointing its finger at the swordsman. However, Popo jumped up from behind the busy boss and brought his mallet down on it's skull, knocking him to the ground and dealing a major 30 damage.

While Skull Kid was stunned, Popo swung his mallet three times, dealing around 15 damage for each and finished off his swipes by slamming his glowing mallet down on the boss. "MALLET MAYHEM!" He cried as the damage lowered the Skull Kid's HP bar. Marth and Nana dashed forward, in an attempt to reach Popo before Skull Kid could regain the upper hand, but before they could reach their friend, Skull Kid shot out another pulse of purple energy, sending Popo flying backwards and slamming into the ground hard enough to crack the earth itself.

Marth and Nana skidded to a stop and readied their weapons as Skull Kid floated out of the hole. It growled and pointed it fingers towards the two. As it did, a whirlwind of leaves and twigs surrounded the two. Marth and Nana's characters let out screams of pain as the leaves and twigs cut into their avatars, dealing around one damage each. Although the damage was so low, it was done steadily over a long period of time, the whirlwind locking the two fighters within. "Life Up Alpha!" Jigglypuff cried again, healing Marth. She quickly cast another recovery spell on Nana. But no sooner did she return their HP did the leaves and twigs cut more into the avatar.

By the time the whirlwinds had faded, Jigglypuff had used all of her MP just barely keeping the two alive. Marth glanced over and saw Jigglypuff's avatar fall to the ground. "Jigglypuff! Did you bring a mushroom to recover your MP?" Marth asked as Nana charged forward at the Skull Kid.

She shook her head. "No, I... I didn't know you could get items like that!"

"Huh?!" Marth looked confused. "Well you see, in towns-"

"YAAAAAAA!" Nana went soaring backwards behind Marth and slamming into a nearby tree.

"...I'll teach you later! Rest right now!" Jigglypuff nodded and sat up, closing her eyes. It was the same position Ness used so very long ago, she was recovering her MP faster then normal.

Marth took a few steps forward and was about to strike when Skull Kid held out its hands and an in battle cutscene began to play. "TATL!" It cried, causing a white orb with wings to appear near his right palm. "TAEL!" This time, a dark purple orb with wings appeared near his left palm. "GET THEM!"

The two orbs shot forward and the cutscene ended. The purple orb flew off out of Marth's viewing range. However, the white orb flew right down towards him. He swung his blade, the first time missing the orb, but the second time striking it. It recoiled in pain, then flew back towards Marth again. Marth took a step to the side, narrowly avoiding the orb, then turned around and slashed it with his sword, destroying it. "Got it!"

"HELP!!!"

Marth turned around to see Jigglypuff being raised into the air by the purple orb. "Jigglypuff!" Marth helplessly cried. He took a step towards her floating body, but another in battle cutscene began to play.

Jigglypuff's body was held mid-air by the floating purple orb as Skull Kid apporched. Jigglypuff wiggled in an attempt to escape his grasp, an act that only caused the Skull Kid to laugh. It then held out its hand and placed it on the pokemon, its palm glowing a deep purple. "Hehehehe!" It cackled, its voice deep and eerie. As it finished its laugh, Skull Kid fired a huge wave of purple energy at the poor mage. Jigglypuff's character screamed in pain as she was completely submerged in purple energy. The blast only lasted two seconds, but when it finally faded, Jigglypuff's limb body fell to the ground.

"OH NO!" Marth cried as the cutscene ended. Jigglypuff's body slammed into the ground and her HP turned to zero. Her body began to slowly take on the form of death as Marth stared. "Damn it! He got Jigglypuff!"

"MARTH! LOOK OUT!" Marth turned around just in time to see Popo jump in between him and an oncoming Skull Kid, whom he smashed away with his mallet. "Do you have any Heart Pieces or 1-Ups?" He asked, gripping his hammer tightly. "I forgot to stock up on them before we left."

Marth nodded. "I have one..."

Nana jumped near her brother and readied her mallet as well. "We'll cover you, Marth. Go revive Jigglypuff. We'll make sure Skull Kid doesn't interrupt you."

"Okay." Answered the swordsman with a nod. He dashed over to the fallen Jigglypuff's body and placed a hand on her corpse. "I hope this works." He muttered, scrolling through his items. He found the item labeled Heart Piece and clicked on it.

--

>Use on target: JIGGLYPUFF?  
>YES/NO

I selected the yes button and a translucent red heart with a blue outline appeared above the fallen pokemon's body. It slowly began to descend into Jigglypuff, and as it did, an aura of white light began to shine. The heart itself, however, was moving at nothing more then a snails pace. "C'mon, c'mon!" I edged on, shaking my fists. Behind me I heard the sounds of clanking weapons and yells of avatars.

Popo and Nana's HP bars were quickly going down.

"NANA HERE!" Popo screamed. A moment later, I saw Nana's HP slowly rise back up.

A Maximum Tomato? I hope so...

But no sooner did her HP go up did Popo and Nana let out yells of pain. "AH!!" I also cried out as I saw their HP bars fall into the red and bringing their life into the double digits.

"I've gotta do something!" I searched through my items and found a Maximum Tomato. But when I clicked on it, an error message appeared on my screen saying that 'You can not use two items at once'. "DAMN!"

"MALLET MAYHEM!"

"I'll recover you! Popo!"

"WATCH IT NANA!"

"AHH!"

A loud rolling sound filled my head phones followed by Nana's HP reaching zero. "WHAT!? NO!" I moved my camera around to see another large gray orb roll away into the Lost Woods. In it's wake there was the lying body of Nana, her HP finally expiring. Before I could act, the white light finally reached it's brightest point. There was another big flash and then the light finally faded.

"Ugggh... Marth?"

--

Marth looked down at Jigglypuff, who sat up with her head on her forehead. "Marth? I'm alive?" She asked, her eyes half closed. "My HP and MP... they're so low."

"TAKE THIS! YAAAA!"

Marth spun around and watched Popo charge towards Skull Kid with his mallet glowing a bright gold. "Quick!" Marth said, helping the mage up. "Do you have enough MP to heal Popo? I'll heal you!" He reached into his item pocket and pulled out a Maximum Tomato.

While he healed Jigglypuff, she in turn pointed her staff towards the charging Mallet Smasher. "LIFE UP-"

But she never finished her spell. As Popo reached the awaiting Skull Kid, the demon only had to deliver one fast attack to finish off the player. So it swung its right fist at Popo, smashing into his face and sending the blue Mallet Smasher soaring off to the right, his body slowly beginning to turn gray as Popo's HP hit zero. Jigglypuff's staff quickly recoiled and returned to her body as an echoey metal error sound rang through the area.

"My heal..." She whispered. "It didn't make it in time."

Marth took a step back. "No... no way... Nana... Popo... They're both dead?"

"Can you revive them like you revived me?" Jigglypuff asked, clutching her staff. When Marth shook his head she began to panic. "Marth... wha- what will happen if both of us die?"

"I think..." He began nervously, "...we'd fail the quest..."

Jigglypuff and Marth exchanged worried glances, then stared back at the Skull Kid, whos fists were balled tightly at it's side. It's entire body was now surrounded in a dark purple aura as it laughed to itself, "...Hehehehe..."

CONTINUE...?


	12. LOGIN 11

Disclaimer:

A/N: This chapter marks the end of... season one? The Mushroom Kingdom saga? Whatever you call it, this ends the first part of the story. Sorry about the delay. This chapter kinda... discribes... very important things. But i ran into a problem... it was either soooo much like the dot hakck series, or sooooo wacked out that not even I could believe it. I had to regut the idea (that is, break it down so it falls somewhat in the middle) and try to pull it off. I think I failed, honestly, I couldnt just help but feel like I was watching an episode while reading this chapter. Haha. Oh well, I swear it will not be Master "Morganna" Hand! I promise!

Thank you to all my loving readers. I gives hugs and kisses.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #11: SSBM and the Event**

--

-The Lost Woods-

Marth and Jigglypuff lifted their weapons and prepared for the Skull Kid's next attack. But instead of charging, the Skull Kid began to slowly march towards the duo, its purple aura growing in size with each step it took. "Marth... can we really take it?" Jigglypuff asked as she began to take a step back.

"Of course..." Marth answered nervously. "I mean... they wouldn't let us take a quest we couldn't beat, right?"

"I guess that makes sense..." Jigglypuff muttered. "But... without the other two, can we really finish him off?"

Before Marth could answer, Skull Kid began to scream. "HEHEHEHE!" It hollered before charging towards the awaiting Marth and Jigglypuff. As it dashed forward, the purple aura slowly began to leave his body and moved itself to around its hands.

"Jigglypuff! Get away!" Marth commanded, pushing the mage away. Jigglypuff stumbled off as Skull Kid jumped into the air and launched a fist at Marth. "Damn it... I guess now is as any good time to try it!" Marth grasped his tightly in his right hand and brought it's hilt upwards to around his shoulder. His sword now had it's point facing downwards while the hilt was pointing above his head. With his left hand, he placed it gently on the side of the blade and waited. As he waited, Marth's body began to glow a deep purple.

"DIE DIE!" Chanted Skull Kid as it closed in on its punch.

Skull Kid fired its fist forward, striking the glowing Marth. However, instead of doing any damage to Marth, nothing too place. You see, Skull Kid's fist hit Marth's awaiting blade and missed the avatar himself. As the fist collided with the blade, Marth's eyes shot wide open. "COUNTER!" Screamed his avatar as he whipped the blade about, swinging a heavy strike back at Skull Kid.

"Yarghagah!" Skull Kid screamed as the blade cut through it's body, dealing 97 damage and lowering his HP bar to about a quarter filled. As Marths' blade landed on the monster, Skull Kid was sent flying back, the effects of his own punch played back against him.

The glow around Marth's body faded and the swordsman stood there, panting heavily. "Marth!" Jigglypuff said in shock. "That move... was it new?"

"Yup..." Marth replied with a nod. "I learned it at level ten... but I never had a good time to try it out. Till now, anyway." Marth's cheerful attitude quickly changed for the worst when he saw the state his attack left him in. "Great... it used up pretty much all of my MP..."

"Don't worry Marth." Jigglypuff said with a nervous smile.

Marth looked confused as Jigglypuff took a few steps forward. "What are you doing?! Get behind me!" He cried. "You're defense isn't good enough to take another direct hit from Skull Kid."

"EMBER!" Jigglypuff cried, pointing her staff at the wounded Skull Kid. It hissed and rolled about as the flames consumed it's body, dealing a large amount of damage, around 50. It lowered its HP even more down, as the bar no longer was green, but had turned to yellow. "S-See Marth? I can help too!" Jigglypuff boasted with a weak smile.

However, as she did an mid battle cutscene began to play. Skull Kid held out his hands and created the same two orbs to appear around his palm. "TALTL! TAEL! GET THEM!"

The orbs flew towards the duo, both appearing to fly towards Jigglypuff however at the very last moment, the purple orb moved off course and charged at Marth. The swordsman lifted his blade and struck the floating orb twice in a row, destroying it. "Eek! Marth!"

Marth dashed over to Jigglypuff, who was being lifted into the sky by the light colored orb. Marth tried to swing, but it had already reached up too high. "...Alright, this is the last of my MP!" His blade began to glow. No sooner did it glow did Marth jumped upwards at lighting speed and slash the orb to nothing with his powerful 'Dolphin Slash'. He and Jigglypuff landed on the ground, Marth on his feet, Jigglypuff... not. Once they regained their balance the two lifted their weapons and pointed them once again at Skull Kid.

"My MP... I have enough for a few heals now." Jigglypuff mutter as Skull Kid began to charge.

Marth nodded. "Then heal me. I'm going IN!"

"Okay!"

Marth's avatar let out a battle cry as he began to charge across the field, his blade held high. Skull Kid saw the oncoming swordsman and didn't slow his pace. The monster lifted its purple glowing hand and prepared for contact. "TAKE THIS!" Marth screamed as he reached Skull Kid. He swung is blade three times, lowering the HP into the red. However, Marth noticed something after his blade finally stopped slashing.

Skull Kid hadn't stopped. "AAAH!" Cried Jigglypuff as Skull Kid dashed forward.

"Jigglypuff! Use Ember!" Marth called out. "It's almost dead."

Jigglypuff pointed her staff at the approaching monster. But unlike before, her voice was much more shaky calling out, "Em... Em...Emb- Uhhh... Not enough MP! AH!" Jigglypuff's stuttering cost her dearly as Skull Kid managed to reach the helpless mage and grab her face by his glowing hand. "OH NO! NOT AGAIN!"

"Hehehehe!" It laughed, causing another huge pulse of purple energy to shoot from his palm. Jigglypuff's character screamed in pain until the light finally died down. Skull Kid dropped the lifeless avatar to the ground as death took Jigglypuff's character once more. It turned around to face the nervous Marth. "...Hehehehe..." It held its hand upwards towards the sky and another huge gray orb began to form. With his other hand, he pointed a finger at Marth and began to cackle once again.

Marth gripped the hilt of this blade tighter and began to panic. "O...Okay. So he only has about... forty something life left. I can do this... I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!" He lifted his sword and was about to charge at the immobile Skull Kid when his avatar suddenly tripped and slammed into the ground. Skull Kid had just cast a spell on the swordsman, causing the vines of the forest to reach out from the ground and wrap around Marth's feet.

"...can I do this?"

Skull Kid gave another laugh and threw the huge orb at the helpless swordsman. It thundered down the field, flattening anything in its path. Marth helpless waited on the ground. "I can't do this!"

"IDIOT! MOVE!"

Marth turned to see a blue blur tackle his avatar out of the path of the huge ball. It rolled by the Marth and slammed into the side of Hyrule's walls, disappearing on contact. The blue haired human looked up to see Popo standing with his mallet gripped tightly with both hands. "Popo?! How?! You're... wait, what?!"

Popo reached down and lifted Marth up to his feet by yanking on his cape. "I'll explain later! We've gotta finish him now!"

"Okay... what are we going to do?" Marth asked.

Popo didn't answer, instead he charged forward towards the beast. Marth shrugged and followed suit, their weapons ready to strike at any moment. "Hehehehe, it's over, my friends!" Laughed the Skull Kid as he held out his arms. He opened his palms and began to shoot dark purple and white orbs at the two approaching players. Marth and Popo began to weave in and out of the orbs, which exploded upon slamming into the hard earth.

"THIS IS IT!" Popo yelled as he jumped into the air, his mallet raised above his head. "YAAAAAA!" He cried, slamming his mallet down on Skull Kid's head, smashing the beast backwards and removing half of his remaining HP bar. "Finish him Marth!"

Marth dashed past Popo and jumped into the air as well. Skull Kid was busying stumbling back to his feet when Marth managed to slice the beast right down it's center. The games programing allowed Marth's avatar to slide through Skull Kid and appear behind the monster. "NO NO!" Skull Kid screamed as its HP fell to a simple number one. Marth took this opportunity to turn around and jab his blade through the back of Skull Kid, the point piercing through and sticking out of his chest. "AAAAAH!"

As Skull Kid screamed, the screen changed and a cutscene began to play. Marth, Popo and surprisingly, Jigglypuff and Nana all watched in awe as Skull Kid floated up into the sky, screaming in pain. "HOW! HOW COULD I HAVE LOST TO IMPS LIKE YOU!" Skull Kid gripped his head and let out one final scream as his body exploded into tiny colored orbs, which fell to the grassy field like snow.

"We did it, guys!" Marth shouted as the four began to dance in the falling orbs. "Now lets hurry! This delay has already wasted too much time! Epona needs our help!"

The cutscene ended. As it did, not only did the entire party gain a level each, but Marth noticed that Jigglypuff and Nana's HP bars had returned to normal. "You guys are alive again?" Marth asked, turning around in shock.

Nana smiled and nodded. "Yup. You see, an opening or closing cutscene automatically revives all fallen players with full life."

"Oh... But then..." Marth looked over at Popo. "How did you get revived?"

Popo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black star. The only other color on the star were two white ovals which looked like eyes. "This is a used Starman. They're yellow when you find them. It's a very rare item that has two ways of being used. One, you use it while alive and you become invincible for a short period of time. The other way is that you can revive yourself whenever you choose."

"Why didn't you revive yourself right away?" Marth asked, eyeing the mallet smasher.

Popo shrugged. "I thought you could handle it. This is a very, very rare item to come across. There is only one boss who is known to drop it. Besides that, there is a extremely low drop rate in normal chests."

"How low?" Jigglypuff asked.

"One in over two thousand something..." Marth and Jigglypuff's face went blank. "Yeah... pretty hard to get."

"Sorry..." Muttered the swordsman, looking away.

"Its no problem." He replied. After he did, Popo began to run off towards a small farm looking building in the distance. "Come on guys, let's finish this quest! I'm already playing on borrowed time!"

Jigglypuff and Nana followed after Popo. Marth was about too aswell, until he noticed that a treasure chest had formed in the area that Skull Kid had been destroyed in. "Whats that? No MVP?" Marth asked as he apporched the chest. He kicked it open and four orbs shot out - three of which flew after the running trio. The last one flew right up to Marth and gave him:

>You've found a MAJORA'S MASK!

Before Marth could inquire the group on the item he received, yet another cutscene began to play.

---

"Another cut scene?! Geez!" I moan, laying back in my chair to enjoy the newest cinema.

---

Marth dashed into the farm, running past the farm's stable and house, towards the setting sun. He came across a huge open field surrounded by a fence. Within the center of the field there were two figures. One was a skinny looking man. The other was on its side on the ground, breathing heavily. "Epona!" Marth cried, jumping over the fence. He was followed closely behind by his team.

The skinny man turned to see Marth and his party running towards them. "Ah, are you the ones Malon sent with the medicine?" Marth nodded. "Well then, hurry and use it! Epona's condition has only grown worse since I sent out word to Malon."

"Very well." Marth answered, walking over to the fallen horse. He reached into his pocket and took out a few pill looking items, to which he fed Epona. Epona chewed them slightly and swallowed as Marth stood up and took a few steps back. "Will it work?"

The skinny man shook his head. "I do not know. All we can do now is wait. Come, I'm sure you've had a long journey through the woods. Allow me to make you beds for the night."

Marth stared at the weak horse for a bit longer before he nodded and followed the man into the house. "Thank you... uh?"

"Ingo."

"Thank you, Ingo."

The screen went black as the white words appeared on the screen: The Next Day...

Marth, his party and Ingo walked out of the house and headed towards the body of Epona, whom was still laying in her same spot. "Oh dear..." Ingo whispered as they entered the field. "It seems... the pills weren't strong enough..."

Epona raised her head and looked over at the group of five, then turned slightly to see another running figure heading towards her. "EPONA! EPONA!" Cried the familiar voice of Malon.

"Malon..." Ingo said quietly as he reached to stop the running girl. But she broke free of his grasp and ran over to the fallen horse, collapsing to her knees infront of it.

Malon bent down and began to rub the horses neck as Epona looked up at the young girl, her eyes filled with pain and tears. Gentle and sad chimes began to play along side the depressing the background music as she spoke, "Epona... Everything is going to be alright. I brought some medicine, too." She gave the dying horse a pill, to which Epona simply nudged away with her face. "...Huh? Epona, please eat!"

Epona instead nuzzled against Malon's red hair as the Hylian stared with tearful eyes. Epona licked Malon on the cheek one last time before her head fell limp and into Malon's lap. "...She's gone." Ingo whispered.

"EPONA! EPONA!!!" Malon screamed, tears streaming down her face. Ingo took a few steps forward and tried to calm the girl down, but she broke free and ran up to a surprised Marth. "I HATE YOU!" She cried, punching Marth in the chest lightly. "YOU WEREN'T QUICK ENOUGH! I HATE YOU!"

Before anyone could reply, she cupped her hands on her face and ran off into the field, crying and screaming Epona's name. Marth stood speechless, as did the rest of his party, as Ingo took a few steps towards the group and sighed. "She didn't mean that, you know."

"I understand." Marth replied quietly.

"But do not think you will not be rewarded for your mission." Ingo quickly replied. He pointed to the south, towards the huge gates of Hyrule. "Please visit Katrina in Hyrule for your reward. You will find her if you take the street behind the armor and weapons stores."

The screen faded to black and the words began to flash on the parties screens:

>LOADING INTO HYRULE. PLEASE WAIT. . .

---

--Hyrule--

Marth, Jigglypuff and Nana all appeared infront of the white portal in Hyrule. "That was... very sad." Jigglypuff said quietly, looking down at the ground. "I didn't think they'd let us mess up like that..."

"... Where is Popo?" Marth asked, glancing around. He saw other players running to and from the portal, but none of them resembled the small mallet smasher he had traveled with. "Did he log off? Or did we get split up when we loaded into town?"

"Both." Nana replied, taking a few steps forward. She turned to face the two others and smiled. "Since we were an alliance and not a party, when we entered a town, it was dissolved. And he was also a few minutes late to get back to work, so the second he made it to Hyrule, he logged off."

Marth nodded. "Oh... Hey, wait... what is a Majora's Mask?"

"Oh, right! You opened the chest, didn't you?" The swordsman nodded. "It's a special party item."

"Party item?" Jigglypuff asked confused.

Nana smiled. "Yes. You use it while in town and you'll transform into a Skull Kid for a short period of time. It's kind of like a costume." She looked upwards, thinking about something. "...And if you selected Hyrule as your home town, I believe you can buy more of those masks here. Did either of you choose this as your home town?"

Jigglypuff shook her head. "No, I chose Kanto."

"Oh yeah!" Marth spoke up. "How long till I get to Pharea?"

Nana raised an eyebrow. "Um... thats the final server in the game. Why, is that your home town?"

Marth's face went white. "I... urm... I thought you could get there are level five?"

"Honey... it said level fifty."

A huge sweatdrop ran down the back of Marth's head. "Really? Thats nice to know. I think the only thing that could cheer me up right now is turning into a Skull Kid." Marth reached into his pocket, but Nana quickly stopped him.

"Hold on... You can only use it once. After that, its gone. So save it, kay?"

Marth and Jigglypuff nodded. "Got it!" They said together with a smile.

"Alright then." Nana turned and was about to walk away. "Thanks you, guys. For the wonderful party, I mean. Oh yeah, here."

>NANA has given you her Gamer ID!  
>Give yours?

"Oh, thank you! Heres mine." Marth said with a smile as he sent her his own GID.

"And mine too." Added the small puffball.

Nana nodded as she received their ID's. "Thanks."

>NANA has left the party!

The two watched as Nana began to disappear into the crowd of players. But before she disappeared complete she turned and gave a wave, calling out, "Don't hesitate to call me if either of you guys need help! See ya!"

Marth and Jigglypuff waved at her until she vanished into the crowd. After they lowered their hands, Marth's smile grew even wider. "FINALLY!" He called out, thrusting his fist into the air. "HYRULE! I MADE IT!"

Jigglypuff smiled meekly. "Yes... so, shall we go get our reward?"

Before Marth could answer the pokemon, he heard another voice echo in his headset. "MARTH! HAHA! You're finally here!"

Marth and his mage turned to see Link running towards the two, waving and smiling. Marth waved and greeted the swordsman as he ran up to the duo. "Hey Link! Yup, I finally made! Just got here, too!"

The Hylian shook Marth's hand. "Welcome Marth! To Hyrule!" Marth nodded and Link began to pull Marth towards him. "C'mon, don't you want to- eh?" Link noticed that Jigglypuff was hiding behind Marth, staring at him with an uneasy look on her face. "Oh, hey there Jigglypuff! I didn't know you were coming too."

"Oh, I... Uh, well..." Jigglypuff stammered, looking away. "Wha-What is it you want, Mister Link?"

Link looked confused. "Jigglypuff, you remember Link, right?" Marth asked, looking over at his friend. "You're acting like this is your first time meeting him."

"Well, um, you see... Uh, well..."

Link interrupted the player. "Would you like to come along? I'm about to bring Marth to meet my friend. She'd very much like to meet you, too!" He asked with a grin. Jigglypuff shuffled her feet and looked up at Link with an odd look on her face. In return, Link raised and eyebrow and rolled his mouse on the mage to see if this was the same Jigglypuff. "...Oh... I see." He answered upon reading her information. "Well, I don't think you'd want to come then, huh?"

Marth looked confused, glancing back between the uneasy Jigglypuff and the depressed Link. "Hold on, what happened?"

"Well... if you're sure then." Link said to the pokemon, ignoring Marth's question. He then once again took Marth's hand and began to pull the human towards him. "Well, I still have to borrow Marth for a bit, Jigglypuff. Sorry if that gets you angry, but it is the reason why he came all the way here."

"Get her angry?" Marth asked in confusion as he turned to look at her. "Why would it get you angry."

Jigglypuff looked down. "Uh... Marth... I uh,"

>MARTH has left the party!

Jigglypuff's eyes shot up as she watched Marth and Link turn around and march towards the white portal behind her. She spun around and called out to Marth. "Wait! Marth! Please, don't-" But it was too late. Marth had already joined with Link and warped off to some unknown area to her, leaving the pokemon very angry with herself. "...Marth..." She whispered. "...I really hope they don't want you."

---

--Hyrule Castle--

Marth and Link warped into a open field, standing in the shadow of a huge and breathtaking castle. "Woah!" Marth shouted, looking up in awe. "Thats... WOW! What is this place, Link?"

Link smirked as he answered, "Hyrule Castle."

The Hylian began to take a few steps forward, matching towards the door, causing Marth to follow closely behind. "Is your friend in there?" He asked.

"Yup." Link replied. "She's in there... with a bunch of friends."

"Friends?"

Link nodded. "Mhm. And you're about to meet 'em all."

The two reached the front doors of the castle and pushed it open. The players stepped into the hallway and the background music for the area began to play lightly in the back. Marth saw in the distance five figures standing at the end of a long hall way. One he made out right away. "Oh, you didn't tell me that little jerk was gonna be here!" Marth muttered as the two marched.

"...Oops?"

--

When we finally reached the long march to the end of the hall, I could finally make out the other four figures. One was a tall man with a green shirt and overalls. Luigi was his name. Another, stood slightly shorter, had a toga and bore beautiful angel wings. How do you do that?! I want wings... hmph...

The other two had their backs to me. One rested on the side, staring off into space, paying no mind to me entering. The other was a beautiful Hylian form in an elegant pink dress and long dirty blonde hair.

"Welcome, Marth." She spoke, turning around. "Welcome to Hyrule. My name is Zelda. And I am pleased to introduce you to my guild, SSBM."

Guild? This small little group was a guild? When I first heard Jigglypuff and Daisy talk about it... I thought they were huge groups of thousands of players. Guess I was wrong, haha!

"Hey there, my name is Luigi." Spoke the man in the green shirt as he shook my avatar's hand.

The angel boy stepped up next. "My name is Pit!" He greeted with a smile.

I glanced over at the other avatar, who was resting against the pillar. Zelda must have caught my stare as she spoke up, "That is Sheik. She doesn't talk much."

--

"I see..." Marth muttered, looking back at Zelda.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked Link to bring you, correct?" Marth nodded as Zelda went on, "Well, Marth... I would like to know if you would be kind enough to join our guild."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Join a... guild?" Zelda nodded. "Well, uh, I don't know. But hey, thats not the reason that I came here."

"Whaaat!?" Pit called out in shock. "Someone came without their intentions of meeting me? I'm hurt..." He looked over at Sheik. "Sheik, I think I might need you to be my mercy angel."

--

...Did she just smirk?

--

Zelda raised her hand to silence the talking player and continued on, "Well, what is the reason you wanted to see me, then?"

"Well, you see.. Recently, some weird things have been happening to me. Running into odd monsters and such, stuff that I don't even think is suppose to be in the game." He took a step forward and continued, "I've constantly been trying to find out information on these things, since they've... well, I guess interested me. But everywhere I turn is a dead end. But then, Link mention that he had a friend who could answer all these questions I have. A friend who would very much like to meet me." Zelda smiled as Marth pointed a finger at her. "Thats you, isn't it?"

"Half correct." Zelda answered.

Marth crossed his arms and awaited her answer. "Go on?"

"You see, Marth, I have been very much wanting to meet you. Ever since Link first brought it to my attention that you have been created within the game." Her smiled faded as she sighed and looked away sadly. "But you see, I can not answer all of the questions you have for me. No, not yet, anyway."

"But you're saying you can answer some of the questions?"

"Of course."

Marth smirked. "Alright! Thats good. So, Zelda, how about you tell me something I want to know, and maybe I'll join the guild. Haha, you know that saying... scratch my back, I'll scratch yours?"

Zelda giggled but before she could answer, Ness jumped in. "Don't you dare start acting like you're doing US the favor by joining our guild." Marth glared at the boy who kept going, "It's you that should be thankful we're even considering allowing a newbie like yourself to partake in this guild!"

"Ness."

"Yeah Zel?"

"Shush."

Ness looked shocked as Pit, Luigi and Link began to laugh quietly. Marth also couldn't help but let out a few giggles. The boy noticed their taunting and quickly turned away. "Hmph."

"So Zelda, we got a deal?" Marth asked once the giggles had ended.

Zelda nodded. "Of course. After all, if you're that interested in those beasts now... there is no way you would refuse joining the guild after I inform you on what they may be, hehe."

This caused Marth to raise an eyebrow and listen in very carefully as Zelda began to explain...

"Marth... haven't you noticed the oddities in the characters and their names around you by now?"

"Huh?" Marth looked around and saw nothing out of place. "No, why?"

Zelda looked shocked. "Really? You haven't? ...Well... they are the same name and avatars... as the characters used and mentioned in the opening movie of the game. Or, in other words... characters from the very back-story of the game." Marth's eyes widened as he gasped. "You notice now, don't you?"

"No."

Zelda nearly fell from her stair. Pit and Luigi exchanged confuses looks as Link... kept smiling and Ness began to burst out laughing. "...Em, what do you mean you don't?" She asked after regaining her composer.

Marth shrugged. "I just... don't remember. Infact, I don't remember an opening cutscene to the game at all!"

Zelda looked confused as she asked, "How can you not remember the opening movie? It plays once you create your character and log on for the first time."

"And there is no way to skip it unless you've already made a character before." Luigi added.

Pit jumped in, "Marth wouldn't happen to be your second character, would it?"

Link shook his head. "Highly unlikely." Marth shot Link a glare, to which he smiled once again.

"Think hard and back to you're first day logging in, Marth." Zelda asked. "Please try to remember what happened..."

--

I closed my eyes and began to think back to the first day I installed SSB:O...

--

_"Okay... now that was the weirdest thing that has EVER happened to me." I mutter to myself, getting up off the floor._

_"Honey, are you alright?" I heard my mother call from downstairs. I guess she must have heard the shaking and my screams as well... I hope she doesn't come upstairs thinking I'm hurt..._

_"I'm fine, mom!" I yell back, closing my now half-open door._

_Slowly, I inched back to my PC. "Is it... going to explode?" I asked myself, getting closer and closer. A few moments past and it didn't blow my head off, so I slowly sank myself back into my chair and looked at the screen._

_"Oh, it made my... character." I mutter, looking over the avatar the random button had given me. "...Marth, huh? Tssk, what a stupid name." I hit the back space button, but upon striking it once an echoy metal sound boomed from my computer, as well as an error message saying I could not change that setting. ...Whatever._

_I wonder... should I even start playing? What if... what if that happens to me again? I shook it off and sighed. "Maybe I should ask Shannon what happened..." I muttered, reaching over for the phone. I picked it up and brought it to my ear. Oddly enough, the phone was down. Wonderful._

_"Well..." I stared at the computer screen, watching my avatar, Marth, spin around and around in a circle, showing off every detail of him. "It seems to be working now. I guess... the worst that could happen is I get a new computer for my birthday." I clicked the next button and the screen went black._

_Again._

_Great._

_I stood up out of my chair and turned, heading for the door. "That was a waste of a night..." I muttered. But as I walked towards the exit, I heard a deep voice speaking to me from the computer:_

_"There once was a land where twelve great heros, chosen by the Hand of God itself, to protect and govern the world, rebelled against their Master and brought upon a revolution to end their God's reign. They cast out their god and returned their forsaken and war-torn world to a godless paradise. Peace and happiness returned, under the protection of the legendary twelve."_

_I looked behind me to see a happy green meadow, filled with butterflies and flowers as the voice continued to ramble on. "Oh, it works... this much be the opening scene, hmm? Ah well... I hate the back story anyway." I open the door and head to the stairs, muttering to myself that this should be enough time to get a drink or two..._

--

"Erm... Nope, doesn't ring a bell." Marth replied.

Zelda sighed. "Alright. In you're spare time, perhaps you should make another character and watch the cut scene. It may help you with you're questions."

"Hey wait!" Marth cried. "I didn't come all this way to just get told to watch a silly video! Just tell me what-"

"I wasn't finished..." Zelda quickly interrupted. "Boys... don't any of them have patience?" Marth blushed and looked away. "Well, in a nutshell, the cutscene talks about the Hand of God returning to the world. In the first game, the Hand of God was the ruler of the world, who made a group of heros. These heros were sent to protect the world from harm. However, they had to protect the world from harm from their very own creator."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh..."

"This game takes place a few months after that incident. In this game, the twelve heros, or the Divine Twelve as they are called, now rule the land. However, the prison they sent the Hand of God into began to weaken. The Hand of God, or as the game calls him... Master Hand, broke free from his prison. Upon his return to the world, he created another version of himself to help take revenge on those twelve he created. The two hands, the second called Crazy Hand, began to bring down havoc onto the world. The Divine Twelve fought, and lost to the two hands."

"Sucks for them." Marth said with a laugh. "I still don't see where this is going..."

"Shush!" Ness hissed from the side.

The Hylian simply rolled her eyes and continued, "Defeated, the hands began to bring the world back into the darkness that it had just escaped. However, the Divine Twelve heard of a group of mortal warriors, all of whom had the same skill of that of a Divine Warrior. The twelve went in search of these people and found what they called the Mortal Fifteen. The group, now complete of twenty seven, fought and once again, lost to the hands."

"Sounds like they're pretty weak."

Zelda sighed. "Do you want to hear the story or not?" Marth blushed again and muttered an apology. "The new group of heros soon discovered that there was a way to send the hands back to their prison. The item that could seal the beasts away was called the 'Smash Ball'. Silly name, I know, don't you say a word. Ahem, however, the ball was protected in an area that could only be unlocked by gaining the six stones that six of the mortals had sealed away each of the six kingdoms. Once again, no wise cracks about that number."

"I wasn't... but six? I thought there were only five kingdoms?"

"Altea, the first Kingdom of Man, was destroyed shortly after they gained it's stone." Zelda took a breath and continued, "So they sent out to find the stones, gather them and release the Smash Ball. With the Smash Ball at their side, the heros managed to battle and destroy the hands, banishing them to another realm, hopefully never to be seen again. Thats when the story begins. Apparently, normal players are playing through the story line that there might be the rise of Master Hand's brother or something, Lord Toe, I don't know, it's not important to them anyway. They just play for the addiction."

Marth nodded upon the completion of the story. "Well thats nice. But what does it have to do with answering my questions?"

"Marth... our characters are the very same characters used in the back story of the game. Each one of us here, save Pit, is one of either the Divine or Mortal heros."

"And you're point...?"

"There is no way to create one of our avatars." She explained. "The only way we could make them is by hitting the random button on the character creation screen. For most players, when you hit that button, it assembles a random assortment of limbs and armor. But for us... it gave us an avatar that is not even in the system specs. The group of us here are pretty much, illegal characters."

Marth looked surprised. "Illegal... characters?" He repeated, to which Zelda nodded. "Wait... but how could something like that happen? If these characters are illegal then how did we get them?"

"Didn't something weird happen to you when you first tried making a character?" Luigi asked.

---

Well, yeah! My computer nearly exploded and took my entire house along with it. "But... I only thought that was because my computer couldn't handle the game..." I muttered.

"Well, you're playing the game fine, aren't you?" Luigi replied. I made Marth nod and he continued, "Then why should it have acted the way it did?"

"I... don't really know. And it was... extremely odd."

---

"That was because it wasn't the game that was creating your avatar." Zelda said. "It was... Master Hand."

"The god thingy?" Marth asked. She nodded. "Urm... so... wait, what? I don't get it. Master Hand is the god in the back story, right? How could he make us if he's just for the back story of the game? Are we not illegal characters, but really... like a secret event, randomly chosen by the game programmers?"

Zelda shook her head. "A normal event character wouldn't have been tried to be deleted by the system administrators. You did know that you we're targeted for being deleted right?" Marth looked lost. "Didn't you get an e-mail from the staff shortly after you were created saying that you won a secret code?"

"Oh yeah!" Marth said, remembering the blank screen and the 'super strong' secret area link. "When I went there, nothing came up."

"Nothing was suppose to." Zelda answered. "If it had been any other player, their character data would have been deleted from the system. It is how the staff takes care of hackers and cheaters."

The swordsman looked shocked. "Wow... so, um... why wasn't I deleted?"

"Because you're characters data is too well protected." She explained. "Not even the system admins could delete you."

"Wow..."

She nodded again. "So, you understand now that your character is not a normal one, correct?" Marth nodded also. "Good. Now, allow to explain Master Hand... Although I have no true proof of his existence, there is something or someone out there who is tampering with the game. Whoever this creature is, he or she has enough power to not only break into the game and alter characters, but keep it's creations protected from the very makers of the game itself. No normal hacker could do that... not even Bowser, the games best hacker."

"So why do you think that this thing is Master Hand, from the back story?" Marth asked.

"Because... not only do we have the avatars to prove it... but we have already found a few of the stones mentioned in the back story. I'm sure you remember, you found one. The Stone of the Void, perhaps?" Marth gasped as she continued. "Yes. That and another stone I found shortly after being created, the Gem of Light. Those two stones, along with the avatars, are the reasons why I believe that this being is not a person... but the god, Master Hand."

Marth looked even more confused after she finished. "HUH?! How could a VIDEO GAME have a GOD?" He asked. "Isn't everything just programmed into this game? It makes no sense."

"That is one thing I can not answer you fully on, Marth." Zelda replied. "But you must understand, that while we play this game, your character Marth does not exists within the world that has those 'rules'. Those rules, saying that everything must be programmed into the system. Marth lives within this world and in this world, Master Hand is the god."

"...Okay, you've lost me." Marth answered, sitting down on the castle floor.

Zelda sighed. "Well, alright. We'll try the 'normal' way. Master Hand is what I believe to be an AI. Somehow, through means unknown to us, the AI of Master Hand grew out of control... to the point where the system could no longer contain it. It grew in power... it grew a free will. It is, for some reason, trying to bring about the events in the back story of the game. We simply call all of these happenings, the 'Event'."

"Why?"

"I told you, Marth, I do not have all the answers..." She said reluctantly. "However, I believe that if this AI somehow can to complete its task... it might not only destroy this game, but it may also begin to infect other parts of the internet. After all, Master Hand was evil. If it could break out of it's coding in this game, and pretty much bring an entire company to it's knees, unable to do a thing about it, theres no telling what he could do outside of this game. And as we advance more and more in life... well, I'm sure you know how important the web is to our daily living now. Everything from holding secret information to holding the locking mechanisms on a nuclear bomb."

"So, not only is this thing a threat to the game, its could be a threat to... the world?"

"Pretty much. That is why I created this guild. SSBM is a guild that is made up of different chosen avatars to help combat this threat and stop Master Hand from infecting and destroying the game."

Marth stood back up and stared at Zelda. "...I'm sorry. This whole thing seems too wacky to believe."

"I understand. But you've already had first hand encounters with the powers of these AIs..." Zelda said. "I'm sure you remember not too long ago... the night you found the stone. That beast you fought... The Wire Frame. Don't you find it odd that a mysterious beast that could not be harmed by a high level Healer, but by a newbie, could almost delete your data, where as the system admins couldn't touch it?"

"...Well... that was kind of weird..." His head quickly shot up. "Hey, thats another thing! Those purple things... what the hell are they!"

"Those are called Wire Frames. They are... well, we're not too sure what purpose they serve. However, we are sure they are not created by the system creators. They are a glitch... a glitch that moderators can not fix. And they come in each form of one of the twenty seven heros. The one you fought... what was it's name. Can you remember?"

Marth brought his hand to his chin and thought. "Wir...Fra... Bowzr?... Bowser? Hey, isn't that-"

"Yes, the hacker I mentioned earlier. But he is also one of the heros mentioned in the back story. As for the other Wire Frame, what was its name?"

"Pi...cu?"

"Pichu is the name of another player whose avatar is that of the back story."

Marth nodded. "I see. But just what the hell are they?"

"I believe that they are somehow connected to Master Hand. Somehow working with him... to try and destroy the game."

"Really?"

"Yes."

The swordsman sighed. "This is all very strange and confusing... Oh, but how about those... uh, Broken Characters, I think they're called?"

Zelda looked slightly surprised at the mention of that character. "Uh, well... the character itself... is one of the twenty seven heros." She explained, much to Marth's shock. "However... we're unsure if it is really a player... or a glitch. Or even if it is working with us... or against."

"Alright... more then I knew before anyway." Marth said with a smile. "Sounds extremely hard to believe and I highly doubt any of it is true. But it's better then nothing, you know! ...Hmm, but I've got one last question."

"Go ahead, Marth." Zelda replied gently.

Marth turned and looked at his other Hylian friend. "Link... he did some super strong move..." He looked back at the arcane infront of him. "Do you... know what that was?"

Zelda nodded. "That is what we call a Final Smash. Or a Super Smash. Whatever you like to call it, it is another oddity that only the characters of the back story can do. It is an extremely powerful move that will instantly destroy any monster. However, when one uses it, their data runs the risk of becoming corrupted. It is the only time one of our avatars can be deleted... other then the Wire Frames, of course. It is just one of the many reasons why our avatars are so different from others."

"So I can use one?!" Marth asked hopefully.

"Yes. But it isn't something you should use just for fun. We haven't found a true meaning for the Final Smash yet... but the risks are too high for you to use it in a situation where it isn't needed."

"How do I use it!" He replied, not paying much attention to Zelda's warning.

She sighed and shrugged. "Each one of us, except Pit, learned to use ours in different ways. So what yours is, and how you can use it... is something you'll have to figure out on your own."

"Darn... alright."

"Is that it for your questions, Marth?"

"Preeeeeeetty much."

Zelda nodded. "Well, then its time for my question. Marth, will you join our guild?"

"You want me to join an insane guild that wants to try and stop some wacko 'god' AI from trying to somehow infect the entire internet by destroying an online game?" Marth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh... Yes?" Marth didn't look too thrilled. "Either way, the Wire Frames have been showing up at an alarming rate. As a chosen avatar, you are one of the few who can harm these beasts. You do not need to believe any of the other stuff to join if you want to help save the game from those glitched creatures."

Marth gave a displeased looked, but then sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, what the hell... if I'm going to join a guild, I might as well join one as insane as the people I hang around with..."

Zelda's eyes lit up as she asked hopefully, "So you'll join us?"

Marth smiled and nodded. "Yup." As quickly as he finished a pop-up on his screen appeared:

>You have been invited to join GUILD: SSBM!  
>Accept/Decline?

Marth quickly clicked the accept button and a loud flourish of trumpets boomed in his headset. Zelda smiled as she lowered a welcoming hand to Marth, "Welcome to SSBM."

Marth smirked and shook her hand. As he did, the other members of the guild began to cheer. "Congratulations Marth!" Link said, patting his friend on the back. "We're guildies now! Isn't that just awesome!"

Pit flung his arm around the swordsmans neck and smiled. "Even though that silly Hylian won't let me join your guild, we're still gonna be friends now, kay?"

>PIT has given you his Gamer ID!  
>Give yours?

"Uh, thanks..." Marth replied weakly, pulling the angel's arm off him.

No sooner did Marth push away Pit's arm did Luigi take Marth's hand for another hand shake. "It's nice to know you'll be joining us, Marth." Luigi spoke calmly. "Although you look a little on the weak side, I'm sure my tough training will whip you right into shape! Haha!"

Marth smiled. "We'll see about that!"

Luigi grinned as Marth glanced over at Ness. The boy wasn't smiling, or clapping as the others were. He was just sitting alone, staring off into the empty darkness of the castle. "Oh don't worry about him." Link muttered from behind. "He'll get over it in a bit, you know!"

"I wish I knew why he doesn't like me..." Marth said quietly.

Link shrugged. "He's not very fond of newbies... but I'm sure he'll open up soon enough." To Link's comment, Ness turned his body even more away from the celebrating group.

The celebrating only continued for a little while longer until Zelda finally spoke up, "Marth, now that you're in the guild, I will be informing you on locations of where those beasts show up. You'll have a duty to help us keep them in check, alright?"

"Sure thing..." Marth said. "Sounds like it'll be fun... as long as I don't die again. Say, I've got one more question."

"Yes?"

"You said there were twenty seven avatars, right?" Marth asked. Zelda nodded.

"Yes, why?"

Marth shrugged. "Well, do you know their names? If you do, then it would be easy to find all of the remaining players and ask them to join."

Zelda shook her head. "We do not know all of the twenty seven names, as some were not mentioned by name in the story. We have a good idea... however, as a protection plan, I will not give you any of the names I am not sure on until I am one hundred percent positive. The only members that we are fully sure on are the Divine Twelve. Their names are; Mario, Luigi, Link, Pikachu, Kirby, Samus, Fox, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff and Ness."

"Jigglypuff?!" Marth shouted in shock. "SHE is one of them?!"

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Jigglypuff. Why, do you know that player?"

"Yeah... I mean, I just got to Hyrule with her. She's one of my friends."

"Oh, I see. Was she with you when Link picked you up?" Marth nodded. "Really." Zelda turned to look at Link. "I thought I told you about Jigglypuff being one of us. Why didn't you bring her along?"

Link began to shuffle his feet uneasy. "Well... uh, you see... she already kind of... joined... a guild."

"Really? Which one?"

Link gave a nervous smile as he answered. "S...S...BB."

Zelda's calm face suddenly changed to one of pure horror and anger. Marth, surprised by Zelda's reaction, leaned over and whispered to Link, "Whats SSBB?"

"It's our rival guild." Link answered back. "Pretty much a guild of players doing the same thing we are... 'cept the thing is, Zelda and their guild master are... well, let's just say they wouldn't want to spend tea time together."

"Eh?"

Zelda clapped her hands together three times, sighed and returned to her happy self. "Alllllllllright then! I guess we'll just have to let them deal with her."

"Zelda, wait." Marth spoke up. "If her guild is our guild's rival... then does that mean we can't hang out with each other?!"

"Of course not." Zelda replied. "Not by my rules, anyway. However, I don't know what the two-timing son of a bitch may want to do..." The guild all gasped at Zelda's use of a potty word. "Oh dear... did I just say that out loud? Erm... I guess all the excitement has gotten me rallied up. I suppose it is time to end our meeting for the day. SSBM... Dismissed!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Chanted the guild in unison. Pit and Luigi both smiled and said their good byes to Marth as they left the castle. Sheik didn't move at first but when she did, she spoke nothing to Marth as she left. Ness did the same, walking by the new member without a second glance. With the others gone and Zelda returning to her away from keyboard state, Link and Marth were left alone.

"So, was that enough to answer your questions?" Link asked cheerfully.

Marth shrugged. "I suppose. But hey, how come... how come you didn't tell me sooner? That I was part of this event... and that Jigglypuff was too."

"You wouldn't have believed me?" Link replied with a grin. "But Marth... although you may not believe what she said right now... now that you've joined our guild, not only will you learn that what Zelda said was the truth, but that it is an impending fate that we must fight to correct." He reached out his hand to his friend and smiled once more. "But we can only fix it together. You, me... the guild. Together we'll solve this problem and save Super Smash Brothers: Online! So, do you promise to help us?"

Marth smirked and shook Links hand. "Promise!"

---

--Mushroom Kingdom--

Peach sat upon her throne, staring at the small pokemon they had just brought into her chamber. "So, have I made myself clear?" Peach asked sternly.

"Yes, yes!" The pokemon replied, bowing its head in nervousness. "I will never hack again! I am so sorry, Madam Peach!"

The admin sighed and looked to her side. "Well... it was only a small alteration of your characters color, anyway. So I'll leave you off with a warning. But next time, I will not be so easy, got it?" The pokemon nodded franticly as the woman pointed her hand at the player. A ring of white surrounded it and it's color returned to normal. "Okay then. Go back to playing the game like you're suppose to, kay? And tell everyone that Shiny Pokemon are hackers."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The pokemon said as it dashed out of the room. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Once she was left alone, Peach began to stare blankly at her monitors, each of which watched over the many different areas in her server. "How boring... I wonder what Mario and Luigi are doing right now."

"You really shouldn't be wondering what normal players are doing you know."

Peach turned to see a man in blue jeans and black shirt, over which he had a blue jacket. His hair was jet black and upon it, he wore a cap with white in the front and red in the back, a green check looking mark resting in the middle of the white. He had green gloves, blue shoes and went by the name of, "Oh, Ash... what are you doing here?"

Character: Ash  
Race: Human  
Level: 100  
Class: Mage  
HP: 630  
MP: 2300

Ash shrugged. "No idea. I'm already in enough trouble cause of that asshole catching me while I was on my break." Ash took a few steps forward and sat down on a small stool near Peach's throne. "I really should be watching over Kanto right now."

"And you aren't because...? You know he'll fire you."

"Well, while I was on my break, I ran into two interesting characters." Ash replied. "Marth and Jigglypuff. You know... characters from the 'Event'. Ever heard of them?" Peach nodded. "Whaaaat!? You serious? Aw geez... am I the last to find out about everything?"

"Seems that way, Ash." Peach answered with a giggle.

Ash rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Well... alright then. I just thought I'd bring it to your attention if you cared. We just finished the Epona's Run quest."

"So... that means their in 'his' protection now, right?" Peach asked with a sneer, looking away angrily.

Ash nodded. "I'm sure Falcrap won't try to delete them just yet though. He hasn't gone after Zelda in a while."

"Thats because he knows he can't delete them..." She sighed and looked at the man. "How did it go? The quest, I mean? How good are they as players?"

The black haired admin gave a displeased look. "The quest went okay... but... well, let's just say... I'm surprised that Master Hand doesn't choose the avatar wielders more carefully. If you know what I mean." Peach couldn't help but laugh at her friend as he teleported back to his home server with a flash.

--

Link and Marth were standing in the middle of the field, right outside of the huge Hyrule Castle. "Well... I made it to Hyrule." Marth muttered as the two began to walk through the grass. "Now what?"

"We level you up, of course! You think you came all this way for nothing? Hardly! Right now, you're pretty darn weak. So let's get you stronger. And who knows... Maybe I'll teach you how to use your Final Smash." Link said with a wink.

"Really?!" Marth asked enthusiastically.

Link smiled. "We'll have to see. Let's go, Marth! I've got a great place to level up."

"Alright!"

The two disappeared in their own warp pipes, leaving the field empty of all forms of life... except one. Crawling out from behind the shadows of one of the huge pillars near the castle was a small pink puffball.

"Oh, Marth..." Whispered Jigglypuff as she watched their warp pipes vanish. "Why... why did that guild have to choose you?"

CONTINUE...?

A/N: I rarely put these, but I figured I might as well state this: Ash is NOT Red (i.e.: Pokemon Trainer). This chapter was written before that update on Smashbros, and I had always intended to put Ash in this story anyway. Red and Ash are not the same. Thank You :D!


	13. LOGIN 12

Disclaimer: I own SSBB. Thats why I delayed the game, so I can imput an extra story mode just about my fic. ADUH!

A/N: A few things about this chapter. First off, its a sidetrack from the main plot. See, I wanted to have random adventures like this in the story, since this game IS an online game after al. Plus, before I chose to make this story the way I did, the chapters of this story were gonna be one shot adventures like this o.O lol. This chapter also has a bit of a jump... okay, a pretty big jump between last chapter and this chapter. Like 10 levels. D:

And if you've played any online game, then this might not sound as weird. But pretty much every online game has injokes from like... popular events or people that happened. So I figured... why not do something like that :D Don't worry. I'm sure you'll all be able to figure it out when it comes. It'll slap you... like a giant- uh, you'll see.

JUST NEW: For some reason, the symbol that shows ingame text isn't showing up. So in game messages are now bolded. I'll update the older chapters later if doesn't fix this by the next chapter.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #12: Sushi on the Beach**

---

Thunder crashed and rain fell as a rouge fish looking monster dashed through the wet marshes. It's skin was a light blue and it had fins shooting out of it's back, giving it a shark appearance. Link watched helplessly as the monster, called a Zora, dashed away from his awaiting sword. "Damn it." He muttered, taking out his bow. He pulled back the string and shot a few arrows at the retreating beast, but all of them fell short.

"MARTH! NESS!" He cried out, watching it disappear into the marsh. "ITS HEADING YOUR WAY!"

The Zora continued its mad dash until it reached a good few yards from where Link once was. As it left Link's range, the Zora managed to enter a small grove of bamboo plants, all growing from the marshy floor. After checking to make sure the Hylian didn't follow, it smirked and began to slow its pace. It only took a few steps until it encountered another player. "Stupid monsters." The Zora shot its head around to see Ness standing atop of a rock, his arms crossed and staring at the monster with a bored look. "When their HP lowers too far they run. Pathetic."

"Bleegha!" Cackled the beast as it took a few steps back.

"Bleegha to you too." Said the boy as he pointed his fingers towards the creature. "PK Fi-"

Before he could call out his attack, the Zora brought it's hand-shaped fins to it's mouth and shot out a strong jet of water. The blast struck Ness and knocked him off the rock, lowering his HP bar by about a quarter. "Bleegha." It laughed again as it ran off towards the east.

Ness stood up, his avatar soaking wet. "Argh. How foolish of me..." He muttered, holding his hands across his chest. "Life Up Beta!" His life bar raised back to normal. "I should have realized it was a water based monster. God that was a newbie move... something I'd bet the newbie would do. Ugh, I feel so dirty."

"WE'RE STILL ON PARTY CHAT, YOU KNOW!"

Ness closed his eyes and sighed. "Shut up."

The Zora continued its retreat from the other players until it finally found its way out of the bamboo forest and into to middle of the bog. It jumped into the murky waters and disappeared beneath the liquid. A moment past and Zora returned to the surface, it's HP bar containing slightly more life then before. It looked to it's left and right, then gave another cackle.

"Hey there!" The beast turned to see Marth standing on the other shore of the bog, his blade swung across his shoulder and a huge smile on his face. "I hope you don't mind, but it's time for you to die."

"Oh god, you did NOT just say that..." Ness's voice echoed in Marth's headset.

Marth lifted his blade over the head of the frightened Zora. "I did. So go make more newbie mistakes and leave the pros alone, okay Ness?"

"PRO? HA!"

Marth brought his glowing blade down on the skull of the Zora. "DOLPHIN SLASH!" He cried out as the blade sliced through the monster perfectly. As it's HP bar reached zero, the monsters body exploded into colorful orbs and vanished.

**You've gained 430 EXP!**

"Haha, yeah!" Cheered Marth as he watched his EXP bar fill up with yellow. "Only a few more kills and I'll reach level twenty!"

"Congratulations Marth!" Although Marth couldn't see him, Link had just called out to him. Marth however did see Ness coming out from the bamboo forest. "I'll join up with you two in a moment. Did it drop any treasure."

Ness shook his head. "Nope. Although the XP was pretty good." He looked over at the swordsman. "And you wanted to bring a fourth member. Hah! Let this be a lesson to you, Marth, the smaller the party, the better the reward."

"I know that..." Marth replied in a pouting tone as Link ran up to Ness from behind. "Hey Link. Where too know?"

The Hylian looked about the empty board. "Uh... lets try over there." He said, pointing towards the west. The group regrouped and began to march through the marshy waste land, a light rain trickling down on them as they walked. "So what happens again when I reach level twenty?" Marth asked as the group pushed on.

"Newbie! Don't you remember anything?!" Ness hissed.

Marth sliced Ness's hat to the ground, to which Ness responded by burning a hole infront of the swordsman. "Ladies, ladies. Calm down." Link spoke, trying to stop the fighting. "Ness, save your MP. We're gonna need it for the boss battle."

"Hmph..."

"Anyway, Marth... when you become level twenty, you get to go choose you're second profession and if you'd like to upgrade your own profession." The hylian swordsman explained.

Marth nodded. "Really... cool. What do you think I should choose?"

Link shrugged. "No idea."

As they marched, Marth began to stare at Link oddly. "Another question. Link... why didn't you choose a different job?"

"Huh?" Link said as he came to a stop. "Oh, well... you see, I was never too fond of Paladin or Dark Blade. Never really clicked with me, y'know?"

"Can you tell me a bit more about the classes?"

Link was about to answer when three orbs floated up from the wet ground. "Oi, I'll tell you once we pound these Zora's heads in!" He said, taking out his sword and shield. The orbs landed and transformed into three more of the blue fish looking creatures, all hissing and grumbling at the trio. "Ready guys? Let's go- eh?"

Before the three could jump into battle, an unknown swordsman named Mido jumped in the way and jabbed the closest Zora through its chest. It fell backwards and took around 40 damage. The other two Zora's names turned from white to red and began to close in on their attacker. As the neared Mido, two arrows whizzed out from the side, striking the two in their sides and drawing their attention away and to another attacker named Tido.

"Aw man!" Ness muttered as he crossed his arms. "A KS."

"KS?" Marth asked, looking to the younger boy for answers.

"KILL STEAL!" Link shouted. "KILL STEAAAAAL!"

"Oh, will you be quiet." Link and his party turned to see a very beautiful Hylian, dressed in a dark green robe take a few steps forward. She opened a book she was carrying in her arms and chanted aloud, "Hydro Pump!" A jet of water flew from her chest and slammed into the Zora's, dealing very little damage, but knocking them each to the ground, allowing the two others to deal damage. "Finders Keepers."

Link crossed his arms and huffed. "And we found them, Miss Saria."

Character: Saria  
Race: Hylian  
Level: 28  
Class: Arcane/Buffer  
HP: 200  
MP: 430

The Hylian rolled her eyes. "You obviously weren't going to attack them. HYDRO PUMP! ... We saved your lives."

"Thats not true..." Ness muttered. "You jumped in the way..."

"Why don't the three of you stop whining and just go find another spawn." She retorted, casting another spell on the Zora's.

Link sighed and began to walk away, followed closely behind by Marth and Ness. "So a KS is a Kill Steal?" Marth began as they searched for a new bunch of monsters. "As in they..."

"Steal." Ness began slowly. "Our kill. And if they steal that, they steal our experience. Got it now?"

"Why would people do that."

"Cause they're rude!" Link answered back. His anger quickly subsided and returned to his happy self. "All right then! It seems that all the monsters around here have been taken care of. Shall we head for the boss?"

Marth quickly raised his hand. "I'm in!"

"Good, then we're off-"

"Hold it." The two swordsmen turned towards Ness. "I can't. I need to go study for a test tomorrow. AP Bio is a bitch."

Link looked surprised. "Oh, really? Hm, thats too bad. Well okay then. I'll catch you on tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah. Bye Link." Ness turned to look at Marth. Marth smiled at the boy, to which Ness just turned away. "And if there was a newbie around here, I might say good bye to him. But I only see a loser! So good night, loser!"

Ness disappeared down a warp pipe, leaving the party, just as Link tackled the enraged Marth to the ground. "Easy there big guy." Link said, his grin never leaving his face. "We play nice on non-PVP boards."

"I don't even know what PVP means, but I swear, if its me and him alone in a PVP field I'll..." Marth muttered, the foam slowly disappearing from his mouth.

"Be dead?" Link finished. Marth shot the Hylian a glare, which filled Link with joy. "I'm only stating the truth."

Marth pushed the Hylian off him and stood up with a sigh. "Well... whatever. What are we going to do now? Can we take the boss without a healer?"

Link shook his head. "Nope. He's pretty tough and I'm out of tomatoes. So, uh... let me see if someone is searching for a party." Link paused as his player began to scroll through all the players in the field searching for or without parties. "Urm... a buffer?"

"A wha?"

"A mage who helps by using shielding powers and raising our attacks and defense. Never played with one before?" Marth shook his head. "Well, a buffer is more of a back up supporter, not a healer. So I guess we can't fight him. Doesn't that suck?"

Marth's face dropped. "Really? Aw man! I only need like... a few more experience points till I become level twenty."

Link took out a familiar green item. "No sense hanging around here. Let's head back to town." The warp pipe shot up from the ground, underneath Link, lifting him up into the air. "We could try a quest or something."

Marth shrugged. "Ah... well, fine." He said, taking out a warp pipe of his own. The two vanished down the green tubes, returning them back to the main town of the server, Hyrule.

---

-Hyrule-

The happy bouncy music began to pour into their headsets, quickly followed by the chatting of many other players. Link and Marth appeared infront of the white portal, spawning among a huge group of players, chatting with friends as they just warped in from where ever they came from. The two swordsman walked out of the large swarm of players and walked into the center of town. "Link, my PC is starting to freeze a bit." Marth muttered as they made their way through town. His character froze for a bit, then quickly picked up his pace once more. "Am I going to get kicked off?"

Link turned and smiled. "Oh. No, thats just lag. It happens in populated areas if you're graphics card or connection isn't up to par with the mass amount of data being pumped in and out of the server." He sighed. "I guess you're PC isn't all that good huh?"

"I guess not." Marth muttered as the two turned the right corner. The duo was on their way towards a dark purple tent at the end of an alleyway. "What good quests are there to take?"

Link shrugged. "I forget. It's been a while since I did a Hyrule quest... see, I have a very bad knack of... uh, not finishing quests."

"Huh. For some reason, that shocks me."

The two entered the tent and were greeted by a familiar looking cat. "Greetings! I am Katrina, quest giver of Hyrule."

Marth paused, thinking back to the quest giver of Mushroom Kingdom. "It's the same NPC?"

"It wasn't suppose to be, I heard." Said Link as they apporched the table. "I think the programers got lazy after a while." There was a quick pop-up showing that Marth had become the leader. "Go ahead Marth. Choose you're quest."

"Okay." Marth clicked on the cat. However, clicking upon her did not bring up a list of quests, but instead caused a flourish to ring out across Marth's headset as his level rose to twenty. "...Yey?"

Link raised an eyebrow. "Uh... that was the shortest quest I've ever seen."

"Congratulations on completing Epona's Run." Spoke Katrina. "Please enjoy the selection of Hyrule quests."

As she finished, a list of quests showed up on Marth's monitor. "Oh right." He blurted out. "I forgot to pick up my reward for finishing that hellish quest."

"All right then. That makes things easier." Link said with a grin.

"Say wait..." Marth looked over at Link. "Now that I'm level twenty... can I travel to the next server?"

"You can... but, uh... you should wait until you're atleast level twenty five." Link explained. "It's a much harder server to get too and the lowest level server they have in Kanto is level thirty."

"Oh..."

"So anyway... Marth, look for a quest called 'Quest for Miss Suhzee. That is your Job Extension quest."

Marth scrolled down the list of quests until he found the one Link mentioned. "Okay then, here we go." Marth pressed okay, causing Katrina to nod. As she nodded, the screen faded to black and a cutscene began to play.

"Quickly! Move! Move please!" Shouted an unseen person. Marth and Link were quickly pushed to the side by a short man in a white lab coat. He wore glasses and what small hair he had left on his head was a pure snow white. "Miss! Miss! I have a quest I must put out! I have a problem with my latest invention! It needs one piece left to be complete, and I can not get it myself! Please, hurry! Find adventurers willing to partake in my quest now!"

"Very well." Cackled the cat as she began to move her hands about the crystal ball.

"You're not moving fast enough! Oh, dear! I must find someone fast!"

Marth took a few steps forward. "Excuse me, sir?"

"What?!" The man spun around. "Oh. Oh! Adventurers!" He quickly ran up to Marth and shook his hand fiercely up and down. "My, my! What good timing! My name is Doctor Andonuts! And thank you so much for taking my quest to help complete my invention!"

Marth looked flustered. "Uh, Doctor, I have not-"

"Very well." Katrina turned and looked at Marth and Link. "Come closer and I shall fill you in on the details of your quest."

"But I don't-"

"Thank you, thank you so much my dear boy! I shall be waiting for you at the location with more information on what happened! Thank you!" Dr. Andonuts bowed and dashed out of the tent before Marth could even speak another word. As he did, the cut scene ended and the screen returned to normal.

"What the heck just happened?" Marth asked, looking to Link for answers. "That was... weird."

--

I saw Link nod as the information popped up onto my screen stating that I could now visit an area called Lake Hylia.

"I guess the quest updated or something." Link concluded.

I picked up my controller and Link and I moved our characters out of the tent and into the streets of Hyrule. "Okay, so..." I began, moving Marth infront of Link. "Are we heading there now or..."

"Well, I've got some things to take care of first." Link announced.

"What kind of stuff?" I asked, being nosey, like always.

Link shrugged. "Just... stuff. Guild stuff, if you know what I mean."

My ears shot up upon hearing 'guild stuff'. "Really?" I said hopefully. "Can I come?"

When I first joined SSBM, I thought that my questions would be soon answered. Boy was I wrong, as my hopeful attitude has now changed to a tortured one. It sucks being so close to people that know whats going on... yet at the same time, they seem to keep so much from you. I mean, sure, they've told me stuff. About how this is a whole big thing and some evil computer program is trying to take over the net. Yeah... hardly. But whatever the reason is, I want to find out what it is. Not the whole 'Master Hand' story... the real deal.

What is really going on in Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE?

"Uh... you could, but you see, its nothing really important. Nothing to do with the 'Event' or anything. Just like restocking our guild shop." ...Doubt it... "And I'll only be a few minutes. You should really stay here and round up a team for us. Although this is a level twenty quest, its still pretty tough."

I sighed, and typed in the command to make Marth do the same. "Alright." I muttered, crossing my arms in defeat. "Just hurry back."

Link smiled his familiar smile. "Of course I will! So get us a good party, okay?" He waved and dashed off down the small path.

Once more I let out a sigh and opened my GID list. "But just who can I ask..." I whispered to myself.

Ness... even if he was online, never in a million years.  
Nana... she's offline too it seems.  
According to the guild status, both Luigi and Zelda were on. But both are set to busy.  
Pit is on but... I hardly know the guy.  
Jigglypuff...  
...

Ever since I joined SSBM... I haven't heard from her. It's been about a week and a half. She's online...

I decided to send a message.

**MARTH: Jigglypuff :D Hey!**

A moment past...

That turned to a minute...

And soon five minutes with out a single reply.

Yup. She's been ignoring me. Wonderful... are SSBM and SSBB really that bitter rivals? "I sure do hope I get to talk to her one more time." I spoke, moving the list down, revealing my final choice. "Oh sweet merciful-" Dare I? I suppose Link wouldn't be too thrilled about going alone with me... so I guess I have no other choice but to ask.

--

--Bowser's Castle--

Bowser paced back and forth, waiting for something to happen. "Damn it, the report is always late." He muttered, slamming his fist down onto his throne. "If he doesn't get here soon, I'll-"

"Lord Bowser."

The hacker turned to see a small cloaked figure enter the room, it's hood proudly displaying the number three. "It took you long enough, Devil." Bowser growled, sitting down in his throne. "So? What happened?"

"I think you'll be-"

"Lord Bowser!" Devil and Bowser both turned to the left in shock to see another cloaked figure, on its hood the number one, walking out of the shadows. "...I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

Bowser shook his head. "No, we just were not expecting you."

Deceiver nodded slowly. "I apologize. Devil, please continue."

"Hmph." Devil huffed, turning back to Bowser. "Lord Bowser, it seems that your hunch was correct and another Wire Frame, WirFra./FELKO, was in that area. I battled it, and the Broken Character arrived just in time to delete it."

"And you failed to capture it, correct?" Bowser asked, raising an eyebrow.

Devil nodded slowly. "Your item failed to contain the beast. However, unlike the last time, it managed to hold it for a good minute or two." The Warlock smiled, although no one could see it. "We're making progress."

The Koopa sighed and began to tap his claws against the arm of his throne. "I don't understand why the net isn't holding the Corrupter..." He sighed and closed his eyes in thought. A moment past before he opened them and spoke, "Drop the item off with the hacking unit and head to Kongo Jungle server. I think there might be another Wire Frame appearance in that town soon."

Devil nodded and warped himself out of the room. Once gone, Deceiver took the stage and bowed before Bowser's throne. "Lord Bowser, it seems my information was correct." He spoke calmly.

"On those guilds?" Bowser asked, raising an eyebrow.

The top Warlock nodded. "Yes. Both guilds are gathering new members, all of whom are part of the event. And it seems that recently, the guild SSBB has come into possession of one of the six stones, the Brick of Irony."

Bowser growled to himself and took out a familiar blue stone. He held it in his claw and stared at the shiny rock. "Another one has been found. That makes the score one for each of us. Damn it, what do these stones have to do with the Corrupters."

"That aside, Lord Bowser, I believe it is time to ask 'him' if he will join us." Spoke the Deciever. "If the others are raising in ranks, it would be wise to do so ourselves."

He nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is. We had best get to him before the others do." Bowser looked up from the stone and at the cloaked player. "Deceiver, can you-"

"Ah, I'm sorry Lord Bowser!" Deceiver spoken, shaking his hands as he rose up off the floor. "It's hard enough to gather this information while trying to keep my cover. Why not have Serpent do it? Don't you find it odd that you've asked him to watch the guilds, yet he hasn't come with any new information since then?"

"Grrr..." Bowser gritted his teeth and continued, "Serpent knows he's on thin ice. He has one last chance to prove himself, and that day is approaching quicker and quicker. But for the moment, he is offline. Let's see." Bowser paused for a moment. "I suppose I'll have either Blade or Euthanasia ask 'him' to join. If not... then I'll go myself."

Deceiver let out a low sound. "Mmm, really?" He said. "If you yourself are willing to meet 'him', 'he' must be very important."

"Not so much important, but more like insurance..." Muttered Bowser. A moment past with the two saying nothing, until he gave Deceiver a glance. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Ah, yes, as a matter of fact I do." Deceiver answered, knowing how to take a hint. The cloaked man bowed and warped out of the chamber, leaving the infamous hacker alone once more.

--

Marth sat alone, his back resting against the side of building near the quest tent. Sweat was running down his face as he nervously kept looking towards the entrance to the ally. "I hope she didn't get my message. Oh, I sure hope-"

"MARTHY!"

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Aw man."

Daisy bounded down the alleyway and tightly gripped Marth around his neck in a power hug. "Oh, Marthy! It's been so long! Why haven't you contacted me recently?" Her happy face changed to a pouting one. "It's hard going on without seeing my man for a week."

"Your man?"

"Yes." Daisy stood up and placed a hand on her chest. "And I am your woman."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "What? Since when?"

"Since forever!" Daisy replied, stars in her eyes. She preceeded to twirl about the ally, saying in a sing-songy voice, "Ever since Ness introduced me to you, I knew we were meant to beeee!"

Marth stood up and sighed. "I liked it better back when you were trying to kill me."

With that note, Daisy stopped twirling and leaned her body onto the side of the building near her. She looked over at Marth with a devious smirk on her face as she began, "So, I see you joined that little guild of theirs."

"What? Oh, SSBM? Yeah. Why?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me." Daisy said as she walked over to the swordsman. "I'm not stupid. Rumor on the forums is your guild knows alot more about the wired monsters then they're letting others know." She raised her eyebrow. "Is this true?"

Marth looked away from the healer. "Uh, not really..."

"Not really means that only some of it is false." She pushed Marth up against a building and put her hand above Marth's left shoulder, resting it on the wall. "Spill it, tiara-boy. I thought we made an agreement that we'd share information."

Marth began to get nervous. "Uh... yeah we... kinda did, right?" His eyes began looking anyway but forward. "Well, uh, you see... um... uh..."

---

Damn she was annoying...

I did make that promise... but... Link... oh...

---

"And thats it for the rules of the guild." Link explained as we marched through Hyrule, heading towards the white portal. "Any questions?"

I made Marth shake his head. "No, I understand. We're not to discuss it with any players not involved in the 'Event'. Thats pretty much it, right?"

"Yup!" Replied with the Hylian with a huge grin. "Oh, but be warned. You see, although it may not look it, many normal players are also very interested in the 'Event' and other things dealing with it. Most think it's a programmed event! How foolish of 'em, right? I mean, programmed events from the admins just don't delete people whenever they feel like it." I gave a slight giggle as Link continued, "But one of our biggest thorn in our side... is Daisy."

"Daisy?" I asked confused. "Really?"

"Mhm." He answered. "You see, shes sorta pretty close with Ness... and because of that, she knows we know more then we let on. She'll most likely try to get info out of you, since you two are kinda close too. Don't let her. It's for her own safety. We have no idea just how dangerous these Wire Frames can become as Master Hand grows stronger."

"Okay, I won't!"

---

"The thing is, we really don't know all that much more then you do, Daisy." I lied.

Daisy slammed her palm on the brick wall, causing a loud boom to ring through my speakers. "Try again."

...She really is scary...

"I'm telling you we don't! I swear! We made a promise, remember? We really don't know anymore then you, trust me!"

Daisy stared right into my characters eyes for a moment. But after that pause, she sighed and took her hand away. "Really? I find that hard to believe. Tell me what you guys do know then."

She bought it?! YES!

"Pretty much we know that the wired things are called 'Wire Frames' and are not an event." I explained. "They're being chased down by the moderators. They only tell certain players this, to not stir up panic or to loose their players."

"Why would they tell that to your silly little guild, though." Daisy said, pondering the question. "I mean... why not just tell no one at all? Thats very fishy..."

I made Marth shrug and moved him away from the psycho healer. "I honestly don't know. You'd have to ask someone higher up in the guild on that."

"Who else is in the guild besides yourself, Link, Ness and Zelda?" She asked.

Before I could answer, I heard a friendly, familiar voice cry out my name.

"MARTH! I'M BACK!"

Saved by the Hylian...

---

Daisy looked over her shoulder to see Link walking towards them. "We'll finish this conversation later." She whispered, taking a few steps away from Marth.

"We had a few extra items, so I brought you..." Link's smile faded as he saw Daisy and Marth awaiting him near the quest tent. "Oh... Daisy. How long were you here? Why are you here?"

"A few minutes and..." She wrapped her hands around Marth's neck. "My Marthy here asked me to come and help you two on your quest. After all, what mission doesn't need a healer?"

"Oh, I see. Haha... okay." Link said with a fake smile. His eyes quickly shot back towards Marth.

**LINK: What did you tell her?**

---

...Such faith, all of them.

---

**MARTH: I didn't tell her anything!  
LINK: Are you sure? I won't get mad or anything, I just need to know.  
MARTH: I told her that they were called Wire Frames and the admins are trying to stop them.  
MARTH: And that the admins only tell a few people.  
MARTH: Cause alot of people would be in a panic  
LINK: The first part isn't so bad... but you went a step too far with the second one, Marth...  
MARTH: She wouldn't stop!  
MARTH: I'm sorry?**

"HEY! Stop whispering to each other." Daisy screamed, placing her hands on her hips. "I know what you two are talking about. For your information, Link, Marthy here didn't tell me anything I didn't know already."

**MARTH: Uh  
MARTH: See?  
LINK: ...okay i guess.**

Link looked at Daisy. "That wasn't what we were talking about, but thanks for that information. I'll make sure to give Marth a spanking when we get back to the- wait... that sounded more wrong then I thought it would. I guess thats why she told me to not use that phrase outside of family..." Link and Marth blushed as Daisy began to cackle.

"Uh... can we please just get on with the quest?" Marth asked, walking over to the tent. "I'd like to move on in the game, y'know."

"Okay..." Link replied, eyeing Daisy with mistrust. "Invite me to your party."

Marth did just that and the three of them marched out of the alleyway, heading for the white portal. When they reached it, Marth began to enter in their location for the search. A moment past and after it did, the group of three were whisked off to their destination.

--

-Lake Hylia-

The group loaded into a green foresty type area, the sky above them a light gray color. Infront of them was a huge blue lake that seemed to go on for miles. "That lake is pretty!" Daisy shouted, running a bit upwards. "When I did my job quest, I had to go to some stinky ol' desert with all these ugly Gerudo NPCs. This place is much nicer!"

Marth and Link walked up to the giddy healer. But as they did, yet another cutscene began to play.

The screen now showed Marth standing infront of Link and Daisy, confronting Dr. Andonuts for the first time since he dashed out of the quest tent. "Hello there my friends!" Greeted the doctor. "Let me explain the task at hand. You see, I recently created a very powerful machine. This machine, when complete, is said going to have the power to grant the person any one wish!"

"One wish? Really." Marth asked surprised. "It sounds interesting. Tell us more."

"Yes, it is amazing, I know." The doctor said with a muffled laugh. "But you see, I can not complete it without one last piece. And, as great as an inventor I am, I can not create... organic material."

"What is it that you need us to find?" Asked the swordsman.

Dr. Andonauts turned and looked at the pretty lake infront of them. "It's said that a creature within the lake rises from the water every hour. This beast is suppose to drop the item I so very much seek."

"What is that item?" Marth asked again, crossing his arms.

Dr. Andonauts turned and smiled. "I trust your judgement. I'm sure you'll know what it is when you see, huff-huff." He began to waddled away, turning once to wave to the group. "I must be off now. Huge battles to the death aren't good for my heart, you see. Thank you, once again!"

The scene ended and the group was left staring at the lake. "Uh... okay..." Daisy muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"This quest seems so different from when I did it." Link muttered, looking over to the lake. He quickly shrugged off his worries and began marching, followed closely by Daisy and Marth. "Oh well! Not the first time they radically changed a quest."

The trio walked to the lakeside and took out their weapons. "The boss should be coming any second." Daisy muttered as she took a few steps behind the two swordsman.

"Yeah. Everyone ready?" Marth asked, looking over. The two nodded as did he. "Alright."

And so, they waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

About five minutes into waiting, Daisy threw herself to the ground and moaned. "AAARGH! This is boring!"

Marth lowered his sword and glanced at Link. "Yeah, uh... Link? Wheres the boss?"

Link didn't lower his guard, holding his sword and shield ready. "Hmmm... Not sure." Marth was about to sit down when Link quickly gasped.

"What?! What is it!?" Marth yelled, jumping to his feet.

"...Nothing." Marth sighed and sat down. "Sorry... I thought I saw something. Oops?"

Another ten minutes past, and now all three of the players were sitting on the beach talking with one another. "I guess that NPC wasn't joking when it said it only spawns once an hour." Daisy muttered as she played with some sand.

"Well, it's almost nine now. My guess is that it will spawn on the hour." Link suggested.

"Why do quests do this?" Asked the blue haired swordsman as he flopped onto his back. "Waiting is helleva boring."

The Hylian shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't a clue. Since this is such a popular quest, it makes no sense why the programers would make the downtime so long."

"So... how about we use this time for the two of you to, y'know..." Daisy looked back and forth at her two party members. "Tell me some secrets. If you know what I'm-"

"NO!" They screamed in unison, turning away from the healer, who 'hmph'ed and looked away aswell.

"So... uh, Link, ever been to this level?" Marth asked looking at his friend.

Link nodded. "Once or twice. This area isn't know for monsters, all of the beasts here are under level fifteen. The admins like to host events here, more then anything. But I have come hunting this area's boss before. During another event.."

"Really?" Daisy chimed in. "So, whats the boss of this area anyway?"

"Assuming its the same boss in the quest..." Link looked upwards into the clouded sky. "...Can't think of it right now."

Just as Link spoke, the in-game clock changed to seven. As it did, a large 'BLOOSH' was heard and a huge pillar of water shot up from the lake, causing the water to rain down on the party. A loud roar followed, echoing through-out the entire board, causing not only the NPC animals to dash away, but it shocked Marth and Daisy to the point of jumping up and grabbing their weapons. "AAAAH! Its so huge!" Daisy screamed, taking a step back.

"And it looks hard!" Marth commented as he readied his sword.

Link raised an eyebrow as he watched the two panic. "What are you two talking about? I highly doubt they'd change the boss to a giant- wait." Link began to ponder the suggestive clues. "Huge... Hard." His eyes shot wide open as he finally remembered the boss. "Oh... I remember now." He muttered, standing up.

The Hylian took out his sword and shield and turned to the beast with a glare in his eye. "Giant Enemy Crab."

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!" Screamed the Giant Crab, shaking the entire screen with it's bellow.

"How could you forget THAT?!" Marth shouted over the yell.

Link shrugged and jumped backwards. "You forget alot of things when you get to be my age."

"How old are you?!"

Before Link could answer, a huge claw came flying down, narrowly missing the group, but causing some pebbles to strike Link and Marth. "Not now! My memory is a little bit fuzzy!"

Daisy raised her staff and healed the two. "Giant Crabs will do that sorta thing to ya."

--

-Kanto, the Battle Dome-

"...WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELCOME TO THE FINALS!" Announced a booming voice.

The stadium erupted in both normal players cheers and computerized as the crowd awaited the final match of the servers daily PVP tournament. The seats for the players were lined up along the circumference of the large white dome, making an almost complete circle. It broke only once, towards the north of the dome, where a huge screen was placed against the wall. In the middle of the dome was a large green, rectangular platform. In the middle of the platform, there was a balled shaped figure, the symbol of Kanto and all Pokemon. On either side of the ball were two white lines, where two shadows of players stood.

Balloons and confetti fell from the sky as the announcer began his introduction. "Thank you all for joining us here today at the Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE PVP tournament! Today, we have witnessed what could have been the most action-packed tournament of all time!" The crowd of on looking players cheered. "And at long last we have come to the FINAAAAAAAALS!"

"Geez, its so loud here." Muttered a mysterious player, covered in a light brown cloak, as they made their way through the crowds. "Excuse me... I'm coming through... Move IT! God, who makes their character so fat anyway?"

"I was a random... you big meanie!"

The heavy set player dashed off in tears. "Oh well. Free seat." He sat down and looked about at the other players. Most were busy cheering madly on at the arena, but some were flashing him stares. "It's like they've never seen a cloak before." He stood up and began to yell at one of the players eyeing him. "YES, ITS LEGIT, OKAY?! IT GIVES ME PLUS TEN AGILITY AND THE POWER TO WARD OFF NINJAS! I FOUND IT OFF THAT IDIOTIC PRINCE TRICKY THING IN KONGO, ALRIGHT! GEEZ!" The player gulped and looked away, to which the cloaked stranger sighed.

**"EUTHANASIA": You're really very loud, you know**.

The cloaked player jumped and noticed that his guild was talking to him.

**"BLADE": Well, yeah, the idiots are staring at me... hey, you're here too?  
"EUTHANASIA": Yes. I see you're not wearing you guild cloak?"  
"BLADE": I thought it would gain too much attention.  
"BLADE": Plus, I didn't want 'him' to know I worked for Lord Bowser... yet anyway.  
"EUTHANASIA": Ugh, drop the 'Lord' act when he's not around, alright?**

Blade huffed and began to look around.

**"BLADE": I don't see you.  
"EUTHANASIA": I'm not in my cloak.  
"EUTHANASIA": And no, I don't have the legit brown one.  
"BLADE": Ah. So, what are you doing here? I thought Lord Bowser told me to meet with him.  
"EUTHANASIA": ...  
"EUTHANASIA": He did. I came to watch the show to see if he was really worth our time.**

"Hehe, I figured." Blade laughed, resting his chin upon one of his arms.

**"BLADE": Final verdict?  
"EUTHANASIA": He could very well replace Serpent, thats for sure.  
"EUTHANASIA": Mind you, he's been fighting legit as well.**

Blade let out a low whistle.

**"BLADE": Must be pretty good, eh?  
"EUTHANASIA": Watch for yourself...**

"...AND WITHOUT FUTHER DELAY, ALLOW ME TO PRESENT YOU TO OUR FINALISTS!" The spot lights quickly erupted and pointed down to the field, first revealing the fighter on the right.

It was a woman, a beast woman, a fox beast woman with purple fur. She had blue hair and a purple jumpsuit on, and clutched tightly in her hands was a long staff. "Damn. Not bad lookin' for a beast." Blade laughed, giving a thumbs up to the beast.

**"BLADE": That wouldn't be her, right?  
"EUTHANASIA": I wish.**

"HER NAME IS KRYSTAL, THE HOTTEST BEAST ARCANE TO EVER GRACE THE FLOOR! SHE HAS MORE THEN PROVED HERSELF THAT NOT ONLY CAN SHE KNOCK A MAN OUT COLD WITH HER FEMININE WILES, BUT HER MAGIC CAN DELIVER ONE HECK OF A PUNCH! BUT WILL OUR LOVELY MAIDEN BE ABLE TO TAKE..."The spot light shot down on the second figure, a tall, dark skinned man, with crossed arms and closed eyes. He was wearing thick leather armor and a long cape. "THE MYSTERIOUS MALE GERUDO, AND OUR CURRENT REIGNING CHAMPION OF THREE MONTHS, GANONDORF!"

Character: Ganondorf  
Race: Gerudo  
Level: 70  
Class: Iron Fist/Swordsman  
HP: 870  
MP: 230

As his figure became visible, the huge monitor on the side of the dome lit up, showing a close up of the two fighters. "BOTH OF THESE FIGHTERS HAVE MADE THEIR WAY TO THE TOP! BUT NOW, ONE OF THESE STARS MUST FALL! THE BATTLE WILL HAVE THE LEVEL CAP OF 70, AND THE FIGHTERS SHALL BATTLE UNTIL ONE EITHER IS KNOCKED FROM THE RING, OR THEIR HP HAS EXPIRED! ARE YOU READY? BEGIN!"

Ganondorf opened his eyes and lowered his arms, staring at the bouncing beast infront of him. "...Thats it?" He muttered.

"What do you mean thats it?!" Kyrstal shouted back, raising her staff.

The Gerudo shrugged. "I heard rumors... that some great and powerful Arcane was coming to dethrone me today. I was excited, for once." He looked over at Krystal and frowned. "But instead I got you."

Krystal's eyes shot open in anger and she thrust her staff forward. "HYPER BEAM!" She cried. A huge beam of white light shot from the tip of her staff, flying towards Ganondorf at breakneck speeds. But the Gerudo didn't flinch, even as the beam consumed him and the entire stadium was filled with blindly light.

"WOW! IT SEEMS THE BATTLE HAS ONLY JUST STARTED AND KYRSTAL HAS ALREADY MADE TOSTE OF OUR CHAMPION! IS THIS THE END OF GANONDORF?"

Blade sighed slightly as the white light began to die down.

**"BLADE": He was great.  
"EUTHANASIA": It's not over yet.  
"EUTHANASIA": Watch.  
"BLADE": It was a direct hit from a Hyper Beam! Can't we just take the hot vixen instead?  
"EUTHANASIA": I said, watch.**

Blade muttered and turned his attention back to the combat.

The light finally returned to normal, and standing in the wake of a huge ditch formed by the beam was an almost unharmed Ganondorf. Upon seeing the sight of their champion, the crowd burst into cheers and hoots. Ganondorf turned to the crowd, smiled and began to wave. "My friends!" He called out, addressing the crowd. "How shall I defeat this challenger? By hand or by sword?"

The crowd began to shout out their opinions on how Kyrstal should be defeat, to which the vixen simply scoffed. "I highly doubt a bloody little wanker like you will take me down." She spoke, her stereotypical English accent glaring through. "It's time to end this, now!"

Ganondorf paused from smiling and turned to see Krystal charging at him. "Hm?"

Krystal jumped into the air and lifted her staff above her head. As she did, the staff began to change from it's normal look to that of stone. "ROCK SLAM!" She screeched, thrusting her stone staff downwards towards Ganondorf's skull.

The Gerudo didn't panic, but instead pulled back his fist. "Aaaaah..." He moaned low as his fist began to slowly glow purple, as did the rest of his body.

Upon seeing his glowing fist, Blade quickly jumped in his seat. "It can't be..."

**"EUTHANASIA": It is.  
"EUTHANASIA": It's a Final Smash.**

"YAAAAAAAAAH!" Ganondorf launched his fist forward with such force and speed that there was no way the oncoming Krystal could have dodged. The punch landed right in her chest, pushing her backwards and sending her flying across the field of Kanto, her body covered in a purple aura of flames. Krystals' avatar cried in pain as her HP decreased rapidly, slowly approaching zero. However, it never reached the big zip, as she was sent flying clear out of the ring.

"AND I DON'T BELIEVE FOLKS, BUT ITS HAPPENED AGAIN! WITH THAT INFAMOUS ONE HIT KILL, GANONDORF HAS TAKEN DOWN THE CHALLENGER AND CLAIMED HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE ON THE PVP TOURNAMENT THRONE ONCE AGAIN!"

The crowd burst into cheers, streamers burst through the air and balloons floated into the sky as fireworks went off. Ganondorf smiled and waved to the crowd, all chanting his name in a zombie like manner. Blade couldn't help but smile upon watching the battle. "Hehe... looks like Lord Bowser certainly knows his stuff..." He stood up and walked out from the stadium, not noticing that he had been sitting next to a certain healer the entire match.

As Dr. Mario watched Blade leave he too had a smile on his face. More like a smirk as he spoke, "Good luck, Blade."

--

-Lake Hylia-

"RRAAWR!" Bellowed the crab as it flung it's huge claws at the trio. The group managed to dodge the giant claws, each time moving slightly more away from the water.

"What do we do!?" Daisy shouted quickly once they had dodged the next claw. "How do we fight a huge thing like that!?"

"Marth..." Link said calmly. "Check the quest log. Sometimes they give us hints in there."

Marth nodded and opened up his quest log. He quickly scrolled down and found the description of the Giant Enemy Crab. Below it was a quick hint on how to defeat the crustacean. "...Uh huh..."

"What does it tell us to do?"

He closed the window. "Let's just say... it wouldn't help. How did you kill the thing last time?"

Link shook his head. "I don't know! See, when I fought it last time, it was during an event where all you had to do was shock it with a phrase!"

"Well, say the phrase!" Daisy shouted.

"I don't think it will work!"

"JUST DO IT!" Commanded Marth as he rolled out of the way of another claw slamming into the sand.

Link gulped and stepped forward. He outstretched his hands and chanted, "Super Smash Brothers Online Three is going to cost five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars! Five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars! Five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars!"

The epic battle seemed to come a sudden hault as Link continued to chant. "What the HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Daisy screamed from the side lines. "What kind of CODE is that?!"

"Errr, well you see, in the last event, the crab was really the enraged public-" But he never got a chance to finish, as The Giant Crab didn't seem to take Link's price check too fond as it slowly began to lift it's huge claw over the poor Hylian's head and pounded him into the ground, nearly erasing his entire HP bar. "Ow..."

-Moments Later-

Three new figures warped into the Lake Hylia area, three very familiar players that Link and Marth had run into during their adventure earlier. "Oh!" Saria shouted as she saw figures battling. "It seems someone got here before us."

Tido sighed and crossed his arms. "Man, that sucks."

"Hey, wait... don't those two look familiar?" Mido asked, pointing towards two of the figures.

Saria leaned in closer. "Mmm, yeah. Let's go look."

The three walked up closer only to find... a horrific sight.

"SOMEBODY BETTER GET ME DOWN NOW!"

"I'm trying Daisy! Stop complaining!"

Gripped tightly within the Giant Enemy Crab's right claw was the distressed healer Daisy, wiggling about like a worm picked from the ground. With it's free claw, the crab was swinging wildly at Link, who constantly dodged the swinging object, or managed to raise his shield just in time to block it. "Take this!" Link cried, jabbing the claw with his sword.

0 DAM!

"ARGH!"

And where was Marth? Well... he was laying, face down on the beach, his body slowly turning gray. Yeah. I think I picked the wrong hero, too.

"Oh, its just you guys again." Saria muttered, placing her hands on her hips. "I didn't think a bunch of losers like you guys would be trying to take down Giant Enemy Crab."

"Ack! Uh, Saria, I'm..." Link raised his shield to block the claw from smashing into the ground once more. He pushed the claw backwards and rolled away from the sea bank. "...kinda busy. If you didn't notice, I'm fighting a giant crab."

Saria gasped. "Oh? You are? Really? I didn't notice." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe you should get your graphics card checked out. I don't know why you can't see it, it's HUGE!"

The Hylian sighed and rubbed her temples. "My gosh. You'd think that leaving home would wise you up a bit." The huge crab threw another blow towards Link, to which the swordsman was reading his shield. However, Link wasn't expecting to get pushed to the side by Saria, sending him off to the ground. "Let me handle this." She took out her book and placed a hand on the text. "THUNDER WAVE!"

A bolt of electric energy shot from the pages of the book and began to wrap it's way up the claw. No sooner had it reached the end of the crab's arm did the entire body of the beast get covered in yellow electric currents, zapping the beast for over 600 massive damage. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH RAWRAW!" It cried, waving it's free claw about wildly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shouted Daisy's avatar, waving her arms in the air in the same manner.

Once the thunder stopped, the crab froze in it's place for a moment. A second later, it exploded in a poof of smoke, sending orbs of different colors flying about the air and Daisy splashing into the lake. The orbs floated down the beach and joined together, forming a chest. "Ah. That was easy."

Link stumbled to his feet and walked over to Saria. "Gee, thanks. Uh... is there any way I can repay you?"

Saria smiled. "No need to thank me!" She said with a giggle. Link returned the smile, but his smile quickly faded when he saw that she was walking towards the chest. "This will be reward enough."

"WHAT!? NO! THATS NOT FAIR!" He pointed towards Saria. "KILL STEAL! KILL STEAA-" Link's shouting was quickly brought to a halt as a fire ball narrowly zoomed past in between his and Saria's chest. The two turned to see Daisy climbing out of the lake, dripping wet, with her staff pointed towards them.

"Bleh... I missed." She muttered, climbing onto the sand.

"Who were you aiming at?" Saria asked, raising an eyebrow at the curious healer.

"It didn't matter."

Saria turned back to Link. "Ooookay then. I'll just be taking my reward and heading out." She opened the chest and out floated three orbs, one flying towards her and the other two floating towards Mido and Tido. After she claimed her prize, Saria stood up and began to walk away.

"Hold it." Saira turned around and came face to face with Link's sword. "We came here for that item. And we're not leaving until we get it."

Saria began to chuckle. "Mido, Tido... how about we show Link here what we do when someone threatens me?"

"Right."

"Gotcha."

Tido charged forward towards Link and Saria, jumping high into the sky upon reaching about half way. He took out his bow and shot an arrow right towards Link. The Hylian managed to dodge it, but was quickly caught off guard by another arrow whizzing towards him. Link barely managed to step back again and dodge the second arrow. "Aah! You guys are trying to kill me!"

"No duh..." Tido muttered weakly as he fired another arrow at Link. The Hylian tried to move away, but Tido's arrow flew at a higher speed then before due to a special power the archer had just invoked. The arrow pierced Link's armor, dealing 100 damage to the swordsman and knocking him backwards into the air. "Mido!"

Mido nodded. The second after, he had vanished, appearing directly infront of the wounded Link, still falling towards the ground. He took out his sword, which was glowing a bright yellow, and swiped upwards. The swing of his saber struck Link, dealing a huge amount of damage and sending him soaring upwards into the dark sky. "Finish him."

Saria took out her book and looked upwards towards Link. "Thunder Bolt!" She cried, causing a bunch of black clouds to quickly form in the gray sky. Following the formation was a bolt of lightening that came shooting down from the clouds, striking Link and slamming into the green earth, leaving a crater. Link's near lifeless body came falling down from the sky, slamming into the ground with a thud. "Still alive?" Saria asked, sitting down next to the hole. "Oh, you have three HP left. Lucky, don't you agree?"

"You're... not being nice." Link muttered as his avatar struggled to stand up.

Saria shrugged. "Hey, you. In the yellow dress. Daisy." She cried to the healer, who was busy now staring at her nails. "Shouldn't you be healing him?"

Daisy looked up from her nails. "I should, shouldn't I?" She went back to her task at hand. "Yeah, I really should..."

"Heh. You have one friend dead, a useless healer and yourself with less then five health points left." Saria bent down and looked at Link with a smirk. "Nice party you got here."

"It's not mine... it's dead boys'."

"Ah..." She stood up and was about to walk away. "I don't even know why you wanted this item. We're only doing this quest because-"

"We're doing it for Marth!" Link muttered as he sat up. "We're trying to get his advance job!"

Saria looked surprised. "Oh! Really? Thats why." She brought her hand to her chin and thought for a moment, before she burst out laughing. "Oh. Oh, oh! I see. Yes, yes. Here, Link." A trade window opened up between the two and Saria gave the Hylian her quest item. "Enjoy."

Links bloody face quickly lit up. "Really?! Aw, gee, thanks Saria!" Saria waved it off and took out a warp pipe in unison with Mido and Tido. "Say hi to mom for me, okay?"

"Whatever. See ya."

The Hylian Arcane's party disappear down their warp pipes, heading back to town. "So, who was that?" Daisy asked as she walked over to the beaten Link. "You know her?"

"She's my sister. Why?" Daisy shrugged. "Shouldn't you revive Marth?"

"Yeah... I should, shouldn't I?" She looked over at the body of the swordsman. "...He's quieter now, though."

--

-Hyrule-

Marth, Link and Daisy warped into town. "Why, thanks for reviving me AFTER all the action happens." Marth muttered as the trio began to walk towards the quest tent. "Cause you know, Marth just doesn't like to watch it."

"You didn't miss much. Just Link getting his ass handed to him." Daisy said with a sly smile.

Marth rolled his eyes and opened his inventory. He scrolled down until he came across the item Link had just traded him. "Real Japanese Historic Giant Enemy Claw, huh? What a great name for an item." He closed the menu and looked at Link. "You sure this is the right item?"

"I hope so."

The three made their way to the tent and walked inside, causing another cutscene to take place. Dr. Andonauts was standing infront of Katrina's desk, bobbing up and down as the three entered. "AH! You're back, you're back!" The doctor ran up to Marth and quickly stole the item. "Perfect! Just what I needed."

"Will you be able to complete your invention now?" Marth asked.

Dr. Andonauts nodded. He took the claw and stuck it in a pot of hot oil labeled the 'Grill Station Three', shocking Marth and his party. After a moment or so, Dr. Andonauts took out the claw, which had turned into a plate full of sushi. "Now I can have my snack while I finish my invention! Thank you, boy, thank you! See that freaky cat for your reward." The small man bolted out of the room, ending the scene.

"Uh... I thought I was suppose to get a job change?" Marth asked, looking at his friends.

Daisy shrugged. Link didn't look like he knew so much either, so he just suggested, "Why don't you talk to Katrina. Maybe she'll give it to you then."

Marth did just that. He gained EXP, gained a bunch of gold, as did the rest of the party. But... no job switch. "WHAT?! I did all that for NOTHING!?"

"Now this is very weird..." Link muttered. "We're not suppose to be getting... not for a job extension... could..." The Hylian sighed and slapped his forehead. "Marth... what is the name of the quest you took?"

Marth opened the quest menu and read aloud his most recent complete quest. "Quest for My Sushi... erm... oops?"

"YOU TOOK THE WRONG QUEST?!" Daisy screamed.

"Ehehe... my bad."

Daisy looked as if she was about to pounce on Marth, but instead she fell to the ground and sighed. "Oh, dear. Okay... I've been around you too much for one day." She stood up and waved with a smile as she left the party. "I'm logging off. See you two later!" With that, she disappeared in a flash of light.

Link seemed lost in thought. "...OH! So thats why she... ARGH! Oh, she is SO off my house warming party list."

Marth looked over at Link confused. "Uh... Link? What do I do now?"

"Well... uh, you could take the real quest if you want."

"UGH! Not tonight... Say, wait... you're still a swordsman. Doesn't that mean I could just stay one, too?" Link nodded. "Okay then! I shall remain a swordsman!"

"You sure? As a swordsman, you won't gain any self healing and protection as you would with a Paladin... or any strong attacks and dark magic with the Dark Blade."

"What would I get then?"

"Kick ass sword moves."

Marth smiled. "Then it's settled. I shall remain a swordsman!"

Link smiled and clapped for his friend. "Yey! Good job, Marth! I don't really think those advance jobs are all that cool, anyway. Well, I've got some chores to do around the house before I go to bed, so I'm logging off for the night. I'll see you tomorrow, kay?"

--

I made Marth nod and watch Link disappear in a flash of light, leaving me alone in the tent. "I guess there isn't much for me to do now..." I selected the log off button and slowly closed down the program. Once it was shut down, I hopped off my chair and jumped into bed, staring up at my ceiling.

"I wonder..." I whispered to myself.

How much longer do I have to wait to find out the truth of this game?

CONTINUE...?

A/N: ...Endrance o.o If Ganondorf is in SSBB, his final smash will be a normal move. That move is his final smash for this story. ya... hope you enjoyed!


	14. LOGIN 13

Disclaimer: I do not ooooown SSBM, SSBB, anything else you may see grace the page of this MMO :D

A/N: Greetings my friends. Have a nice Halloween? I sat alone at home, ate some candy, and cried while watching Ghost Hunters LIVE for 6 hours straight. Best. Holiday. Ever. Anywy about the story... we're in for a rough ride these next few chapters. I personally didn't feel any motivation behind them, and this whole next... um, 3 chapters I havent really enjoyed writing. I hope you enjoy reading them, though! On a different note, I should totally make a forum based on this story so we can all RP as characters in this made up MMORPG right D:? I'm a fricking genius.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #13: Reunions and Disillusions**

---

--Hyrule Castle--

Zelda stood alone in her normal spot, staring outwards towards the huge doors at the other end of the castle. No one else was in the chamber, only herself. However, she was busy talking... on her guild's chat.

**ZELDA: How are things going you two?  
PIT: Eh, alright so far.  
LUIGI: Decent. How bout you?  
ZELDA: No recent information.  
LUIGI: Ah. Okay.  
ZELDA: I'll keep you two posted.  
ZELDA: For now, just keep searching that area. Peach said there should be a Wire Frame nearby.  
ZELDA: And let me remind you, do not engage the Wire Frame until I can confirm it with Peach. Understand?  
PIT: Got it.  
LUIGI: I know.  
ZELDA: Good. Keep up the good work.  
ZELDA: Oh, and Pit, I trust you are enjoying the guild's guest pass?  
PIT: ...If that was some kinda joke, I'm not laughing.**

The Hylian closed her guild chat just in time to see a familiar swordsman in a green tunic approaching her. She waved and smiled. "Hello, Link."

Link stopped in shock. "Oh, wow, you're there? Ha, cool."

"You're getting pretty strong, Link. Almost level forty five."

"Yeah. Somehow, even while training Marth, I've managed to take that time to raise my own level a bit." He laughed. "I'm not complaining though!"

"Oh yes. How is Marth doing? Do you know what level he is?"

Link stopped giggling. "He's level twenty. I was about to log off for the night after playing with him, but I got you mail on the forums and logged back in." He plopped onto the floor. "So, whats up?"

Zelda sighed. "I just sent Pit and Luigi to Jungle Japes to see if Peach's leads on a new Wire Frame were correct. I was kinda hoping..."

"That I could have gone instead of Pit?"

"...Pretty much."

Link frowned, which caused Zelda to gasp. "Sorry, I had to finish up the quest with Marth... and after it, I was kind of sleepy so..."

Zelda shook her hand, dismissing the Hylian's apology. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I told them not to start fighting unless they get in contact with me first. I'm sure Pit will be fine. Luigi knows the risks, anyway."

"So, do you need me for anything else?" Zelda shook her head. "Alright, then I'm going to head back to town and log off. I'm exhausted."

Link stood up and started to walk away but was stopped by Zelda's voice. "Oh, and the next time you log on... I think it's time to start teaching him how to use his 'Final Smash', don't you?" Link didn't answer. He turned around and gave Zelda a thumbs up, then dashed out of the castle to log off. "...I certainly hope he can handle it."

--Kanto--

"GANONDORF! GANONDORF! GANON-"

SLAM!

Ganondorf slammed the door to the waiting room of the Battle Dome shut, silencing all of the chanting of his fans. He was alone in the room, his only company the unopening lockers, three benches and a score board reading in bold gold letters: 'Ganondorf: Champion!' The Gerudo walked over to the closest bench and sat down, letting out a loud sigh. "That wasn't much fun..." He muttered in a bored tone. "Single battles just aren't fun anymore."

"So, why don't you switch to team battles?" Came a voice from the shadows of the waiting room. Ganondorf began to glance about the room, seeing no one. "Or better yet, leave the arena all together?"

"If you want an autograph, sorry, I already used up all five of them." Ganondorf scoffed. "Why don't you log off and just leave me alone for a bit."

The voice began to chuckle. "Autograph? I'm not here for something that silly. I'm here for something much more important."

"I don't give my GID to normal players."

"But you see..." A hand was placed upon Ganondorf's shoulder, shocking his avatar and causing him to turn around to meet the brown cloaked Blade. "I'm not a normal player."

Ganondorf stood up and backed away. "Who are you? Only the champ is allowed in the waiting room after the tournament is finished."

Blade chuckled. "Are you familiar with The Warlocks?"

"That loser Bowser's personal servants. Yeah, what..." Ganondorf stopped mid sentence and quickly raised his fists. "So, can I ask what I did to offend his _turtleness _so much as he needed to send one of his hackers after me?"

"We can't fight here, you know this room is non-PVP."

"I never trust the game laws when I'm around a hacker..."

Blade shrugged. "Eh." The cloaked hacker took a seat on the bench and began to talk once more, "You haven't done anything to make Lord Bowser angry at you. I'm not sent here to PK you or anything, if thats what you think."

The champion lowered his fists and gazed on the smaller figure with watchful eyes. "So what do you want then?"

"Lord Bowser wants to meet you."

Ganondorf looked puzzled. "Bowser wants to meet... me? May I ask why? I am no hacker."

"Oh, there is a reason." Blade replied with an evil giggle. "Long story short... Lord Bowser is interested in filling a position in the Warlocks. And you're his first choice."

"And become an outlaw? Hardly. There is no way I will join your little gang of hackers."

Blade sighed and stood up. "Okay, look. You don't have to join with the Warlocks right here and now. But Lord Bowser truly wants to meet you. How about me and you head to Bowser's Castle and have a little chat with him there, mmm?"

The Iron-Fist burst out laughing. "Oh, yes! I'll just come along to some illegally hacked area to meet the best hacker, who could very well reduce my level to one with a snap of his claw. Yeah, I'm totally getting excited."

The cloaked warlock sighed again. "Have you ever wondered... why there are thirteen male Gerudos... yet we only have twelve million users playing the game?" Ganondorf's laughing slowed as he let what Blade said sink in. "You do know that a male Gerudo is made only once per ever millionth sign up, right?" It was then that his laughing came to a complete stop. "Can you tell me, what does your account number on your GID say?"

"It's... seven million eight hundred ninety-one thousand two hundred and twenty-three..."

"And you do know that if you were a true Gerudo your number would be a simple seven million, right?" Ganondorf didn't answer. "Haven't you wondered why your character is so very much like the Gerudo King in the prologue to the game? Don't you ever find it weird there is such a powerful attack that you and you alone can use?"

"I figured it was all a fluke."

"Hardly." Blade placed a hand on Ganondorf's shoulder once again. "If you come with me to meet Lord Bowser, these questions and more will be answered for you. So?" He didn't respond. "You said yourself that these battles were getting boring. How about we spice it up a bit then?" Silence. As the silence grew longer, Blade grew more impatient. "Well? Any answer?"

He said nothing.

"Ugh. Well, my friend, I have places to go and people to see." Blade started to walk towards the door of the waiting room. "Here is my GID. If I don't hear from you, I'll be waiting in Hyrule, by the items shop tomorrow if you wish to meet me. Till then... chao!"

Blade opened the door... and was trampled beneath thousands of players whom had thought it was Ganondorf.

--

--The Next Day--

RIIIIIIIING!

I opened my eyes and flung my arm across the bed, smacking the annoying ringing clock with my full sleepy force. Once the buzzing had stopped, I pulled myself from bed and glanced over at the clock to see what time it was. "Ten AM? ...Uh-oh..." I missed my class for the day! ARGH! I didn't even go to bed that late yesterday!

Oh well.

I hopped out of bed and quickly found myself double clicking on the SSBO icon. I was about to yell at myself, but... I stopped caring about five days ago. I was a hooked. And I hate it. But I couldn't help but wonder just what Link and the others could be up too, so I just... had to log back on. Only for a moment or so. Just to check up on them.

As the game loaded I noticed what a wonderful day it was outside. "Dear God... I'm playing a video game on one of the nicest days of the year." I felt my face nearly go pale. "I'm... turning into a NERD!"

Suddenly, I felt the desk shake and a ring-tone start playing.

I turned to my left and noticed that my Final Phonetasy cell was busy ringing off the... erm, table. I leaned over and answered the vibrating phone. "Hello?"

"HEY! Wow, you're out of class early!" It was Shannon. Huzzah.

"Yeah, I kinda overslept... again. So, whats up?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.

"Mike and I are going to go hang out in the city today. Jan is sick and we were wondering if you wanna come along?"

"I'd like too, but uh..."

I glanced at the computer. Then I looked outside at the sunny day. Back at the computer... back to the window. The computer... the window... the computer... ah, it's finished loading the game. "Sorry, I'm feeling a bit under the weather too."

"Really? Wow, sick again. Geez, I hope you two get better. I'll talk to you later! Bye!"

"Bye."

I closed my phone and put it back on the table.

Yes...

I was indeed hooked.

But I never thought it'd be this addicting!...

Upon realizing this, I slammed my head and screamed, "I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST CHOSE TO STAY INSIDE!"

I slammed my head a few more times onto the table...

And I might have cried.

--

-Hyrule-

Marth loaded into the busy square of the server only to be struck by a large amount of what Link said was 'lag'. "Wow, its getting worse by the day." Once his computer finally accepted the area, he began to walk towards the portal. "I better go get some items." The swordsman picked up his pace and jogged over to the items store, walking inside and walking up to the desk. A small, ugly looking male with a green jump suit, red nose and rosey cheeks was there too meet him. "Hellooooo and welcome to my store!" He spoke, turning about in a circle.

"Uh... yeah, this is...odd." Marth muttered to himself, opening the items menu. "Let's see... a few tomatoes should cover it." Marth accepted the offer and was about to pay when the item screen disappeared and the creature jumped up and down, with a furious look on it's face.

"What is this? Gold? We only take Rupees here! Begone!"

"Rupees? What the heck are rupees?" Marth asked confused.

--

I heard a player behind me sigh and I knew what was coming next.

"Newbie."

Bingo.

--

"Different servers take different amounts of currency. In the Mushroom Kingdom, you use gold. In Hyrule, you pay with Rupees. Go to the bank, it's on the left edge of town, and get your gold transfered into Rupees."

Marth turned around and smiled. "Tha- uh..." He was shocked upon seeing that the player who gave him his information was covered from complete head to toe by a long black cloak.

The figure crossed his arms and hissed, "What?"

"Uh, nothing. Thank you... uh." Marth rolled his mouse over the player, only to find that no name came up. "...I'll be going now." He turned and left, moving as fast as he could away from the cloaked player.

Marth walked outside of the store, nearly getting trampled by a group of players chasing someone, and began to head towards the left side of the town. "I wonder where this bank is..." He muttered to himself as he wandered the side-streets. It only took Marth a few minutes, but he found the bank near the edge of town. He smiled upon seeing the large golden letters claiming what building it was, but was more shocked at who was standing infront of it. "Jigglypuff!" He cried.

Jigglypuff was standing infront of the bank, talking with a small, mouse like pokemon. She laughed and waved to the other player, who logged out of the game, then turned to see Marth. She only looked at him for a moment before she turned and began to walk away. "Wait, Jigglypuff!" Marth called out, giving chase. Luckily, the pokemon's speed was lower then Marth's, allowing the blue haired player to reach her quickly once she walked down the wrong path into a dead end. "Jigglypuff, whats up! It's been like forever! Wow, look, you're a Healer now! Thats cool!"

"Oh, um... Hi, Marth." Jigglypuff muttered, looking away from Marth. "I'm kind of in a rush, so-"

"Please, Jigglypuff, just wait a minute." The puffball didn't reply, keeping her eyes a safe distance from his own. "Have you been ignoring me?" When she didn't answer again, Marth sighed and turned away as well. "It's because I joined this guild, huh? I see. So, I guess as long as we're in rival guilds we can't be friends."

Jigglypuff shook her head. "No, Marth, thats not it! It's just..."

"Just what?"

"If they see me with a member from SSBM... I might get kicked out of the guild. They might think I'm a traitor. And, I... I don't want that to happen."

Marth looked surprised. "Why would they kick you out of a guild just for hanging out with your friend?"

"I don't know... all I know is that SSBM and SSBB are rivals and that I'm not suppose to have any connections with anyone from that guild. But... I am sorry I did that. I should have responded to your messages... they can't read those. I guess I just tried too... I don't know." Neither of the players said anything for a bit, until Jigglypuff spoke up again, "Well, I have to go. Our leader is holding a meeting in a little bit, so..."

"I understand."

Jigglypuff walked past Marth and was about to leave when she turned to him. "I still want to be your friend, though."

"You do?" She nodded and both players smiled. "Okay. Uh... maybe we could do a quest together sometime? We don't have to let anyone else know about it."

"Uh... we'll see."

Marth smiled again as the small healer waddled off. "Alright then. Now to get some Rupees." He walked into the bank and was quickly met by another small man in a green suit. "Um... I'd like some Rupees please?" Marth asked, clicking on the NPC. Selecting the small man brought up an exchange screen, asking Marth how much gold he wished to convert to Rupees. After a moment of so of fighting with the controls, he found out that he had gone from having about three thousand gold to having near sixteen thousand rupees. "WOAH! I'm rich!" He cheered, bouncing about the bank happily. "YES!"

"You're not rich. The exchange rate for gold to rupees is high, but they make up for it by making everything on this server so god damned expensive." Commented a lizard looking beast named Leon.

Marth sighed and looked to the ground depressed. "I knew it. But couldn't have you just let a newbie celebrate in peace?"

"I don't call level twenties newbies, but whatever floats your boat dude." Leon chuckled and left the bank. "Newbie!"

Marth growled and followed the beast outside. He was met by Jigglypuff, who was waiting outside of the bank, timidly looking around the area. "Oh, uh, hello Marth." She whispered when the swordsman stepped outside.

--

Marth and Jigglypuff warped into a majestic room. The floor was covered in beautiful white tiles, and large pillars emerged from them, holding up the dark blue ceiling. Between each of the pillars were golden banners, each touched with blue, and infront of the duo was a large doorway with stairs leading downwards. It looked as if they were inside a castle. "So, he's suppose to meet you here?" Marth asked, glancing about the chamber.

"Yes. Well, not in this very room, but in this area." Jigglypuff explained, walking towards the nearby staircase. "I think I remember him saying he was going to be down a floor or two, to avoid lag issues."

Marth nodded and the two began to descend the stairs. The small staircase winded downwards in a spiral, the only light coming from torches along the way, somehow emitting enough light to brighten up the entire pathway. "Temple of Time... sounds dynamic." Muttered Marth as they continued down. "You'd think this place would be more important to the story line and be part of the 'Event'."

"Well... it is, this is where the group goes to find the stone of Hyrule." Jigglypuff explained, looking up at Marth. She continued, a hint of confusion in her voice, "Didn't you... watch the opening movie?"

"Uh..." The two reached the end of the stair case and walked out into an identical room. The same pillars, banners and staircase at the end of the room. The only difference was that in this room, two groups of other parties were busy fighting about waist high cylinder looking pieces of mud, that when Marth rolled his cursor over revealed their names to be 'Like Likes'. "Creative. Is he here?"

"No. Let's go down another floor."

And they did that, wandering down another flight of the spiral staircases, ending in yet another look-a-like room. This room was empty. Marth began to walk through the room when a group of three orbs began to flutter up from the ground. Marth ripped out his saber and stood ready for combat as Jigglypuff did the same. "This shouldn't be too tough." Marth said as the Like Likes' formed infront of him. They let out a low moan sound and began to sluggishly move towards Marth.

"Becareful Marth!" Warned Jigglypuff from behind. "Now that I'm a Healer, I only have healing spells. You're on your own for hurting them."

"Okay." The swordsman didn't wait for the beast to reach Marth, instead he ran forward and slashed the closest Like Like across it's center. It dealt 30 damage to the lower level creature, and took a small chunk out of it's life bar. He swung his blade two more times and delt about the same amount of damage, destroying the first Like Like with his third and final strike. The creature dissolved into a puddle of muck at Marth's feet upon it's HP bar disappearing.

"They seem pretty weak." Marth spoke, glancing back at Jigglypuff. "I don't see why-"

"LOOK!"

Marth turned back only to see a circle of darkness grow larger, larger, and finally bringing the entire screen into darkness.

--

**You are currently being devoured. Please wait for a party member to rescue you or for the attack to end.**

"...Uh, thats not good..."

Only about five seconds later did the Like Like spit Marth back out. I watched my avatar fall to the ground and the world flood back onto my screen. Although the Like Like were a slightly lower level then me, the monster had done a number on Marth, reducing his HP bar to around a quarter. "Ack! Jigglypuff, could you-"

"Life Up Beta!" I heard her cry. The spell surrounded Marth and returned my HP bar to a safe range. As Marth stood back up, I tighten my grip on my controller and began to attack once more.

--

"Thanks Jig-" Marth thanks was cut short by a Like Like quickly lunging forward at him. He dodged, and his avatar called out, "Dolphin Slash!" He swiped his sword down on the recoiling Like Like and split the beast in two after dealing a major hit. Although the Like Like's HP had not reached zero, the beast fell to the floor in a puddle of muck after being spilt in two by Marth's blade.

Marth was about to say something when Jigglypuff called out to him in a panic. "Help Marth!" He watched as Jigglypuff began to run about the chamber, being chased closely behind by the third and final Like Like. "I don't have the same defense you do! If they get me, I'm dead!"

"Hang on!" Marth called out. He began to run towards the healer, but found that he couldn't move from his spot. "Huh?"

**You are bound by the PUDDLE OF LIKE LIKE JUICE. You can not move for thirty seconds.**

"Jigglypuff, run over here, I'm stuck!"

The puffball bounced across the room towards Marth, stopping only when she herself was caught in the puddle of muck left behind by the other Like Like. The chaser, although moving slowly, was closing in on it's victim. "Marth! Oh, I hope this works." She pointed her staff at Marth's feet and shouted, "Recover!"

A baby blue aura surrounded the swordsman and the puddle of muck around his feet sizzled and disappeared. Marth was free to move again, but he noticed that Jigglypuff had used most of her MP to cast that spell. "What was that?" He asked.

"No time! Kill the sludge thing!"

Marth jumped over Jigglypuiff and landed in the pathway between the monster and herself, slashing the beast twice and finishing it off quickly. The flourish sounded in their headsets and Marth grew a level. "So, you couldn't come here by yourself because you knew those things would be able to kill ya, huh?"

Jigglypuff nodded at Marth's assessment. "Yes. Once I chose Healer as my main job, my armor went down even lower then it did before. I'm pretty much a walking target for monsters... which sucks."

"So I wonder why he'd chose this place to meet with you, instead of a level one area in Mushroom Kingdom..." Marth thought outloud, to which Jigglypuff made a small sound.

"Cause he likes to challenge me sometimes. Besides, he doesn't want others coming. So I guess a higher level area makes it more... uh, private?"

"Oh. Well, that makes some sense. I suppose... Anyway, let's keep moving."

The two continued on their way, walking down another flight of stairs. The duo emerged into a similar looking room, only this time, the white tiles of the column and walls were a faded gray with a purplish glow. "This is spooky." Said Marth as they entered the next room.

"It means we're getting closer to the final chamber. There doesn't seem to be any monsters here... let's go." Marth and Jigglypuff crossed the chamber and continued moving downwards into the dungeon on another flight of spiral stairs.

--

-Hyrule Castle-

"Are you sure thats what you saw?"

Pit nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Luigi was there too."

Pit sat on the stairs in the grand room of Hyrule Castle, with Zelda standing behind him and the system administrator Peach standing to his left side. "Where is Luigi?" Peach asked, looking down at the player.

"He's not online at the moment, Peach." Zelda interjected. "I believe he has work today."

"Oh, yes, today is Monday, I forgot. Next time he comes online, I'll have to speak to him then."

Pit sighed and stood up. "Well he'll say the same thing. I'm surprised you don't believe me, Peach."

Peach looked shocked for a moment. "Don't believe you? I do, I just need to have more proof. Nothing against your testimony, we know that you have been a long and noble subscriber to Smash Brothers Online, I'd just like to hear it from both of the witnesses first before I can confirm it is true."

"We already knew it was true, geez! How dumb to you have to be to not know that Bowser was going to be interested in those Wire Frames!"

Zelda looked about the chamber after Pit's loud shout. A large amount of players were gathered around the area, staring and whispering to each other. "Keep your voice down Pit." She muttered. "We may be in a protected zone right now, but they might still be able to hear us."

Upon Peach's arrival to the castle, she placed a small protection code around the section of the castle that Zelda, Pit and herself were talking in. Within this area, which admins called the PF (Protective Field), their avatars could not be seen by other players. Most of the players who had gathered in this area were simply there, shocked, to see that the Waiting Lady had finally, to their eyes atleast, moved from her spot.

"Don't worry, they can't." Peach assured them. She turned back to Pit and nodded. "I don't doubt you're words at all. Go over the encounter one last time so I can make a log of it for future reference."

Pit sighed and crossed his arms. "...We were in Jungle Japes."

--

_Pit and Luigi ran through the thick jungle floor, finally reaching a small clearing. The clearing had a small a lake in the background, a waterfall forever dropping into the waters of the lake. On either side of the clearing were tall palm like trees, their branches filled with leaves and bananas. "Looks like this is the end of the area." Luigi said, scratching his head in confusion. "Not a Wire Frame in sight!"_

_"I guess Zelda's info was wrong for a change." Pit replied with a laugh._

_The two turned to leave, but as they did, their computer screens were filled with a bright purple glow. "Is that it?" Pit asked, turning around to see the large symbol of the Wire Frames appear, floating infront of them over the lake._

_"A circle with an off-centered cross... Yup, thats it!" Luigi took a step backwards. But as he did, Pit fluttered forward, taking out his bow and placed an arrow in it's holding place. "Pit! What are you doing? Zelda said-"_

_"She said what? Not to fight it? I'm not going to fight it!" Pit said with a smile. "I'm gonna destroy it! Big difference, you see."_

_"No there isn't! This isn't the time to be joking around."_

_Pit sighed and lowered his bow. "You know, you're nothing like Sheik. Now SHE would-"_

_"WATCH IT!"_

_Pit turned around just in time to jump out of the way of a sword being thrusted towards him by a small, cloaked figure. The angel landed a few feet away from the player and lifted his bow. "And you are?" Asked Pit._

_The player withdrew his sword and began to chuckle. "Pit, I presume? And Luigi? Both from the guild SSBM, correct?"_

_"Well, you got the name part right." Luigi muttered._

_"I've been informed about you two. Lord Bowser figured that your pathetic excuse for a guild would try to meddle in our affairs."_

_Pit chuckled. "You're the one who is meddling. We were here first."_

_"Hardly." The figure took out his sword and stood ready to attack the two. "I will give you both one last chance to run away. From what I heard, you two shouldn't be fighting this monster, anyway."_

_"Who are you?!" Pit shouted, ignoring his last comment._

_"Learn, and fear what I am about to tell you. Return this information to your guild leader, so that she can keep you out of our way. I am the Lonely Devil, one of Lord Bowser's Warlocks! You, and the rest of your pathetic guild, are now being hunted by us! So take this warning back to Zelda, stay out of our way and we will not harm your characters."_

_"Warlocks?!" Exclaimed the archer in shock. "That bastard... HE LIED!"_

_"Who lied?" Both Devil and Luigi asked in unison._

_Pit gripped his bow and shook his head. "No... it's nothing. Forget it."_

_Luigi smirked at Pit's attitude. "Well... I figured as much."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_The green fighter pointed an angry finger at Devil. "...That these guys would be coming after us! It was only a matter of time before Bowser sent his personal lackies to stop our guild!"_

_"Why you!" From the back of Devil shot out two wings, both looking as if they had been taking from the back of a gargoyle. They flapped twice, lifting the small player off the ground and then began to flap wildly as he flew towards Pit and Luigi._

_Pit's wings also began to lift him into the air. "You handle the Wire Frame if it shows. I'll take care of the idiot."_

_Pit broke his bow into two daggers and flew towards the Devil, whos own sword was lifted into the air. The blades collided with such force that both players lost 2 HP from just the shock wave of the blades. After a few more swipes on both parts, all of which were countered by the other, the two aerial players shot upwards, soaring into the jungle's blue sky to continue their battle in the clouds. _

_Once in the sky, Pit rejoined his daggers, recreating the bow, and shot a couple of arrows at the still ascending Devil. He managed to dodge the first, but the second struck head on. Pit began to-_

_"Wait."_

--

"What?"

Peach coughed. "Uh, as... exciting as your battle may have been, please, there is no need to go into detail about it. Skip right to the end, I wish to know only what he did with the Wire Frame and the 'Broken Character'."

Pit crossed his arms and huffed. "Fine."

--

_Pit fell to the earth, his HP bar having fallen to all but zero. Behind him, Devil fluttered down, hovering above his body and chuckling to himself. "Pathetic. I can see why Lord Bowser said Serpent should look over you. You're so very, very weak."_

_"You're just... a hacker!" Pit muttered, his character trying to stand up, but failing due to the nature of his HP._

_"Yes. And whats your point?" Devil floated to Pit and slashed his saber across the angel's back, removing what small HP the archer had left and forcing his player to return to town._

--

"And you see, Pit, I do not doubt your words up until there." Peach explained. "But since you were not present-"

"But Luigi was!" Pit exclaimed, causing Zelda to wince again. "Since when don't you believe what he says?"

Peach sighed. "Thats not it. It's hard to make an official document based off peoples words only. Even harder when they're not theirs directly."

"Can't you just look up the log of the event?"

"Kongo isn't my server. Even so... Jungle Japes was... well, it wasn't being watched at the time of the incident."

Pit crossed his arms. "Our subscription fees at work."

"...This game is free."

"...Uh... Whatever! AOTH wasn't."

"But-"

"Let me finish."

--

_Luigi punched the wired beast, this one known as WirFra./SEMUZ, backwards into a tree. The fighter was about to continue his assault on the beast when Devil flew over to him and slashed him with his saber, knocking the fighter to his side. "You're just as pathetic." Devil cackled, landing infront of the Wire Frame. "And you... well, I don't know what you-"_

_WirFra./SEMUZ held out it's right hand and shot a powerful beam of light out at Devil. Only given a moments notice, Devil barely managed to escape the attack, taking about 100 damage in the process and lower his HP to less then half, as he was still wounded from his battle with Pit. "You don't seem too strong yourself, Devil." Luigi chuckled, standing up and using a Maximum Tomato. "I'd expect more from the number three Warlock!"_

_Luigi jumped towards Devil, who was regaining his balance after escaping the last attack, his fist balled. But Devil saw the attack coming and lifted his blade, jabbing Luigi in the chest as he apporched. Luigi's avatar screamed in pain and fell to the ground, his HP slowly decreasing and his body unmoving. "...Thats-"_

_"Cheating? Yes, I know." Devil said with a laugh. "An attack that can bleed and paralyze in the same moment. I made it myself and it's quite helpful against pests like yourself." _

_WirFra./SEMUZ took a few steps out of the tree it had been stuck in and began to walk towards Devil. She was about to charge forward when a gray rift opened up in the middle of the area, revealing the 2-D Broken Character. "And it arrives." Devil spoke quietly._

_The Broken Character floated over to WirFra./SEMUZ and struck the monster on it's forehead with it's bell. As it did, the entire area filled with a bright white light, blinding Luigi and Devil alike. As the light reached its brightest, a vacuum sucking sound rang through the area, disappearing as the light vanished from the screen._

_Once the light faded, WirFra./SEMUZ fell to its knees and exploded into tiny purple squares, all of which disappeared as they rose into the sky. Devil and Luigi watched as The Broken Character returned to the rift, leaving nothing behind. Once gone, Devil floated over to the spot where the Wire Frame had died and surveyed the area. "Drat... it left nothing."_

_"Looking for those stones too I see?" Luigi said with a smirk as his HP crept closer and closer to zero._

_Devil spun around and walked over to the fallen warrior. "Heh. Well, wouldn't you like to know? Even if we were looking for the stones, I'd never tell you. And this would be the point where I finish you off... but." He began to chuckle quietly. "That bleeding and paralysis won't end anytime soon, so I'll just leave you like this till your HP reaches zero." The Warlock bent down and whispered. "And don't forget, tell your guild leader to stop messing with our work, and maybe your guild won't be deleted."_

_With that, Devil warped out of the area, leaving Luigi alone to bleed to death._

--

"I see. Thank you, Pit, I have it all logged now." Peach said with a nod. "And this is all from Luigi himself, right?"

Pit nodded. "Every word."

"Okay. I'll make sure to run this question by Luigi next time I see him. Still, I-"

"STAND ASIDE!"

Zelda, Pit and Peach all turned towards the crowd of players, whom up until the sudden shout, had been whispering furiously. A tall man, wearing a helmet and purple spandex made his way through the crowded seen, pushing players aside and stopping infront of the protected area. He scanned the area briefly, then looked up and angrily stared right into the eyes of Peach.

"Ugh. He's here." Peach muttered.

"Is that... Falcon?" Pit asked, to which Peach and Zelda nodded.

"...EVERYONE HERE HAS THREE MINUTES TO LOG OUT OF THIS AREA!" Boomed the moderator of Hyrule. "THIS AREA WILL BE CLOSED DOWN FOR REPAIRS. THOSE WHO DO NOT LOG OFF NOW SHALL BE DISCONNECTED, THEIR PROGRESS DATA FOR THE DAY WILL BE LOST!"

The crowd of players quickly began to dash for the front door of the castle, and once outside, were swallowed up by green warp pipes, taking them back to town. Captain Falcon watched as they left, and once making sure that the last player had left from the field, he lowered the protection of the area, revealing the chatting trio.

"Well, well, well. What a surprise. Peach, mingling with the normal players again." Captain Falcon spoke, crossing his arms and looking down at Peach. "I'm sure that the boss won't be happy to hear this again."

"Oh, shut your mouth for a moment Falcon and let someone else speak for once." She quickly snapped back. "For your information, I am here on an official administrative task to interrogate a player on the encounter of a Wire Frame."

Captain Falcon smiled a crooked smile and his eyes fell upon Zelda. "Yes. Isn't it odd that it's the same people each time that have this encounter?" He looked over to Peach. "The same people YOU have been interacting with?" Peach glared at her co-worker who returned the favor. "Peach, please, I'm begging you. Stop this! You know what could happen if I, or anyone else reported you! Infact, with all the talk around the office about the overview of 'his' performance and interaction of normal players, you should be doubled as worried for getting caught."

"Don't you dare mention him!" Peach shouted back, pushing the administrator away from her. "You know you set him up!"

"I did not!" He screamed back. "All I did was report his actions! Something that, by the agreement you _signed_ when you came to WORK here said you would do!"

Peach's glare seemed to be so strong that it was coming from the player of Peach itself. "He was your FRIEND!"

He was about to retort back when he was interrupted. "What's happened to you, Falcon!" Pit quickly spoke up. "I may not have known you that long back in AOTH, but I did know you weren't like this! Geez, when did you shove a stick up your ass buddy?!"

Captain Falcon turned to the angel and held his hand out towards Pit, causing a block of white to engulf the player. "Pit!" Zelda shouted in fear, watching as the block slowly descended into the floor of the castle. She looked back at Falcon and shouted, "What did you do to him!?"

"Relax." Peach calmly whispered.

"I logged him off and banned his account for the week." Falcon replied. "For the use of foul language. It's against the user-term agreement."

Peach scowled. "Oh grow up, Douglas!" She cried. "You knew Pit from back then, didn't you? Why are you being such a-."

"What? A good moderator?" Falcon asked, raising his eyebrows. "A worthy worker? I'm following the rules, Pauline, which is something you should be doing too!"

"You're just a... a bully! Thats all!" She shouted back.

Falcon began to laugh. "Bully? Really? For doing my _job_?" Peach didn't reply, but she continued to glare at her co-worker. Captain Falcon took a few more steps towards her and pointed a finger in her face. "Now listen here. The ONLY thing keeping me from reporting you to the boss is-"

"What? That the fact that the players I'm 'mingling' with are the only ones who can stop this problem that WE can't fix?" Falcon looked shocked and withdrew his finger. "You ever think the reason I'm not worried about getting fired is because I am with people who are important to the well being of the server, where as 'he' was simply hanging around players for fun? Maybe thats the difference, why 'he' may be fired and I am not!"

Captain Falcon's digital face didn't show it, but his voice showed that he was near speechless. "Why you-" Was all he could muster after her outbreak.

"Geez! Guys, come on, come on!" Came a male voice from the entrance. "We can hear you guys fighting from our offices." The group turned to see who had warped into the area, only to be greeted by the cheerful smile of Ash. "If you two are going to fight, do it offline so we could atleast place bets on who wins!"

Peach smiled at Ash's stupid joke, whereas Captain Falcon just gave another glare. "Get out of here, Ash. Your server has already gone to pieces and they need all the help they can get." Ash shrugged and logged off.

"Why don't you go take your break, Douglas." Peach said in a taunting tone. "Isn't it time? Afterall, you don't get paid overtime to play a game."

Captain Falcon looked back at her and glared once more. "...Get off my server. I won't tell you again."

After he said that, Captain Falcon warped out of the building using his moderating powers, leaving only Peach and Zelda alone. "I'll un-ban Pit's account later tonight." She said calmly, taking a few steps towards to the entrance.

"Uh, Peach."

Peach noticed the doubt in Zelda's voice. It was one of the few times Zelda had ever shown she had such a quality. But the blonde haired mage turned and smiled at Zelda. "Don't worry, Zelda. We're not having any change in plans. That idiot might try to report me, but he won't. And even if he does, we'll, you guys won't get in trouble, it'll be me. And I'll still be able to use Peach, you know. Those higher ups can't delete her if they tried."

"They can block your account though, right?" Zelda asked, her voice returning in strenght.

"Nothing a little... well, let's just say, debugging, won't fix. If you know what I mean." Peach winked at the Hylian and waved. "I'll make sure to run this encounter by Luigi and inform you on anymore movement of the Wire Frames." She paused for a moment and smiled. "Oh, yes... Zelda, you do remember our deal, right? About the upcoming event?"

"Oh! Yes, I do. When will-"

"Today, very soon. Don't worry, I'll send you a message before we do it. But... Till then... I'll be seeing you!" She walked outside of the castle and vanished in a flash.

--

-Temple of Time-

Marth and Jigglypuff found themselves in the middle of a dark purple chamber. They were at the very bottom of the dungeon, the spiral staircases being traded off for rooms with three different pathways, leading to more rooms in the maze like cellar. Each chamber looked the same, their walls a dark purple instead of the pearly white. The columns, if any remained intact, where cracked along it's length. The banners were now nothing more then shreds that lined the floor.

"Which way now?" Marth asked as they apporched the center of the room. To their left, right and ahead of them were all entrances.

Jigglypuff glanced about the room. "This is our ninth room, right?" Marth nodded. "Then we go to the ...right."

The two walked down the right corridor and disappeared into the darkness. They only stayed in the dark for a moment, as their characters emerged into a new room, which looked 'oddly' like the other one. "Tenth room." Marth announced, looking about. "Which way now?"

"Oh, uh... drat, hang on." Jigglypuff muttered. "I need to find the instructions. I've only been doing this so far on my memory and I'm not sure on the tenth room."

"Okay. Well hurry." Marth said as Jigglypuff's player began to search around her computer desk.

As Marth and Jigglypuff made their way lower and lower into the dungeon, they noticed a scary trend with the monsters - each floor they grew stronger and stronger. By now, the beasts were at about level fifty each. Needless to stay, the level twenty one Marth and level twenty Jigglypuff were worried about running into one of these monsters, so they took ever precaution they knew, from sending one of them to enter the room first to see if they survive, or waiting and watching for other players to run out screaming in bloody terror, they wanted to make sure they made it to the final floor of this dungeon.

"Okay, I can't find it..." Jigglypuff muttered upon returning. "But I think it's too the..."

She and Marth looked towards the left corridor, only to moments later see a player, badly wounded and bleeding race out, screaming aloud, "The horror! THE HORROR!" From behind the darkness of the path, the cries of his party were heard for a moment, and then were suddenly silenced.

"...Straight. I think it's straight."

Marth nervously nodded and the two continued on their way. Finally, after a few more rooms, Jigglypuff finally said, "I have no idea which way."

Marth sighed and the two fell to the ground. "Aw man. So close to the ending, yet so far..."

"I'm sorry." Muttered Jigglypuff.

"Don't say sorry!" The swordsman said quickly. When the gloomy look on Jigglypuff's face didn't leave, Marth spoke again, "How about I walk down one of the paths? If I die a quick and painless death, the it should give you a fifty-fifty shot of making it to the next room! Sounds good?"

"No..."

The two remained quiet for another moment.

"Aaaah!"

Marth and Jigglypuff looked down the pathway they had just come from. "Looks like someone went the wrong way." Marth muttered.

"AAAAAAH!" The scream only got louder.

"Uh... Marth?" Jigglypuff said standing up and lifting her staff. Marth did the same, only he took a few steps backwards. "We should run right?"

"Yeah!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAAAY!"

The two turned to run, but were quickly past by a small, pink looking puffball. Infact, to Marth, it had looked like another Jigglypuff from behind. The new player turned down the right corridor and disappeared. From behind them, however, they heard the thundering noise of what sounded like the feet of atleast twenty different monsters. "Follow it!" Marth cried as he and Jigglypuff chased after the frantic character.

To their dismay, the hall was a dead end. "Uh-oh!" Jigglypuff squeaked.

"Shush!" The two looked to their side to see the pink character gazing around the corner of the hall. "You two better be quiet if you don't want them to find me!" It whispered, not once looking at them. Marth and Jigglypuff looked at each other and nodded, joining the player in hugging the wall.

From the entrance that the small character had just emerged from emitted a terror worse then ten hundred Like Likes - teenaged fangirls. "Which way did that squishy go!?" Shouted a mage, glancing about the room.

"I'm not sure." Said another, by her armor it appeared to be a ranger. She pointed to the right and left path. "But both of these corridors lead no where so..."

"STRAIGHT!" Announced their leader, a small, blacked hair girl in a green dress. She looked more like a painter then any other class. But on her command, she and her army of girls charged through the chamber and into the next room. After a moment, the sound of their stomping faded into nothing, and the small character sighed.

"Phew. That was-"

"Oh, Kirby!"

The small puffball turned to come face to face with Jigglypuff. Once seeing the healer, the puffball's face lit up with joy. "Jiggly!"

Character: Kirby  
Race: Beast  
Level: 32  
Class: Shifter  
HP: 320  
MP: 110

"So, you're Jigglypuff's brother?"

The group was standing back in the middle of the room, Jigglypuff and Kirby smiling and chatting with each other. Upon hearing Marth's question, Kirby turned and nodded. "Yup. Made him a few days before Jiggly here did."

"Oh. Thats cool." Kirby smiled and went to talking with his sister. "So, how have you been sis? Is Marth here your friend?"

Jigglypuff smiled aswell. "Alright. And, uh... yes, he is! He's my very best friend."

--

I couldn't help but blush after hearing that. What a sweet girl, I suppose.

--

"Well, Marth, I'm glad to see you've been taking care of my sister!" Kirby smile beamed. "And it's a pleasure to meet you!"

**KIRBY has given you his GID!  
Give yours?**

Marth looked shocked for a moment but quickly sent back his. "Here, Kirby! Sorry it's late, but... Happy Birthday!" Jigglypuff traded Kirby the shield that she and Marth gained so long ago.

"Oh, The Star of Twilight! Thanks, Jigglypuff!" He hugged Jigglypuff and the two smiled once more at each other.

"So, why were those girls chasing you?" Marth asked, sitting down on the ground so he was at about eye level with the two.

Kirby sighed. "Well, you see... to other players, I'm kinda... a squishy." Marth and Jigglypuff's blank expressions confused Kirby. "A squishy? You know, a very cute avatar that players tend to chase after to try and hug? Haven't you ever heard that term before?"

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

He began to laugh. "Haha, you guys must be sorta new then, huh? It's just one of the games many slang terms. Hm, speaking of newbies..." Kirby examined the two of them. "You guys are... pretty weak to be down this far. How'd you two make it here?"

"You gave me instructions over the e-mail, remember?" Jigglypuff said. Kirby, however, looked confused.

"I... did?"

"Yes, you wanted to meet with me."

The cute fighter paused for a moment and thought. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad to see you Jigglypuff, but... I didn't ask you to come. If I did want to meet you, I wouldn't bring you here, anyway. This place is dangerous for low levels. I'm only here cause I know all the pathways by heart!"

"Really?" Jigglypuff asked surprised, to which her brother nodded. "Hm... thats very weird."

"Well, there is no harm done since the two of you are still well and in one piece." Kirby said with another smile. "Why don't we warp back to Hyrule and talk a bit more in the city? This part of the dungeon always gives me the creeps."

The two others exchanged glances, then looked back at Kirby and nodded. Not a moment later did the three of them disappear down green warp pipes, leaving behind the Temple of Time. However, they did not notice the bright flash of purple light shoot out from the corridor the girls had just disappeared down, vanishing only moments later.

CONTINUE...?


	15. LOGIN 14

Disclaimer: SSBM Is not mine, sadly. Cry with me, yes?

A/N: Personally, I'm not in love with this chapter. it's one of the hardest i've had to write. But I tried, and I know if you dont ejoy it I know why :D lol. Also, since this is the second time someone mentioned this, What the heck is TTA? I searched it on Wiki, is it that sci-fi novel? I've never read them, idk. Or is it that flash thing? Or Tiny Toon Adventure? What is it, someone tell me so I can avoid walking into that. I've never heard, read, watched anythin called TTA, this whole thing is just a story inspired by .hack. O.o if its like TTA, I might wanna search that.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #14: The Final Smash**

Marth, Jigglypuff and their new friend Kirby teleported into the main city of Hyrule. A moment past as their computers loaded up the city, and once the colors, scenes and foul-mouthed players began to flood the speaker and monitors, the group began to walk towards the east side of town, trying to rid themselves of the lag and annoying voices. As they walked down an empty lane, Kirby and Jigglypuff would constantly be talking with each other, rambling on about things Marth had never heard. "So, where did you two meet?" Kirby finally spoke up, breaking Marth's tension slightly.

"I, um, asked him for help... to get your birthday gift." Jigglypuff replied meekly.

"Really? Well, thank you too Marth!"

"It's no problem..." Muttered Marth as they walked along. After a little ways more, Marth began to feel nervous again as the two talked. "Say, uh, if you guys want too, I can leave the party and give you two some alone time."

Kirby and Jigglypuff turned around with surprised looks upon their faces. "No, you don't have too." Jigglypuff said quickly. "Please, stay! It's been so long, you know."

"Yeah, after I just catch up a bit more with my sister, the three of us can go off and clear a field!"

"That sounds nice, but-"

**LINK: MARTH :D!**

Marth jumped slightly as the sudden whisper shot across his screen.

**LINK: Come to the castle!  
****LINK: We got work to do :)**

"Urm, I would love to but I have to get going, anyway." The two puffballs frowned. "Sorry, it's um... well, guild stuff."

"Oh... I see." Jigglypuff nearly whispered. "Well, alright then. I'll see you when I see you."

Marth noticed Jigglypuff's tone and quickly spoke up. "Don't worry about it, Jigglypuff! If I get done quick, the three of us can go adventuring together! Okay?" She looked slightly happier at Marth's statement. "Okay, good! See you two later!"

"Bye Marth!" Kirby called, waving to the swordsman as he ran back towards the main town. Once he was out of sight, the two siblings paused in a moment of silence. "...He seems nice." Kirby finally spoke to which Jigglypuff smiled and nodded.

--

-Hyrule Castle-

Marth loaded into the green fields just outside the majestic castle and was greeted with the friendly face of Link and the not so friendly face of Ness. Link, upon seeing Marth zone in, waved to his friend and called him over. Marth jogged across the plain and up to his guild members, stopping a few feet away from the two. "Hey Link! Hey Grinch! Whats up with you two?"

"What did you call me?!" Ness shouted, lifting his finger. "Don't think I won't hesitate to PK Fire your sorry ass into-"

"NESS! Your mouth! You're too young to be saying those kind of words!" Link exclaimed in shock.

Ness shot the Hylian a glare, then crossed his arms and looked away, muttering to himself, "You don't even know how old I am..."

"Sorry about that. And hello to you to, Marth!" Link greeted with his (assumed) trademarked smile.

"Heh, no problem." Marth smiled back. "Alright then, so... what is it you two called me for?"

"Well... We're going to teach you-"

"You can't teach it, Link." Ness interrupted.

"... We're going to push you in the right direction of how to use your Super Smash!"

"Final Smash. Remember, Zelda changed the name to stop people from getting suspicious?"

Link sighed and kicked the boy in his rear, knocking him over onto the ground with a thud. "Well, yes, Final Smash then. So, Marth, are you ready to begin?"

"Am I ready?!" Marth shouted in anticipation. "Of course!"

--

Finally! At long last, I was about to do something that was related to this 'Event' thing! It only took them about a week and a half to see I was ready. I made Marth nod about ten times, causing Link to laugh and Ness to mutter another slew of insults under his breath. "Well, I can see you're ready, so how about we get into a party and head off to a field with some monsters."

No sooner did Link say that did I invite him to my team. "Alright then, let's-"

"Uh..."

Link's 'Uh' quickly cut me off. I sighed, knowing what was coming next. "Oh, does he really-"

"Yes. If you die, I can't revive you! Silly."

Ugh.

I grumbled and invited Ness to join the party. "Don't act like your the only one suffering!" He quickly snapped, looking away from my avatar. "This isn't the best way I'd like to be spending my time too you know! I think it's just a waste of time to begin with!"

"I may regret asking this, but why?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Like I said before, the Final Smash can't be taught!" He shot back. "If you can't learn it on your own, you more then likely can't use one at all." The boy turned and looked at Link, "Why don't we just let Luigi teach him? Or Sheik? Wouldn't you rather be raising our levels for Peach's event tomorrow afternoon?"

Event? Oh! Maybe it was that event I overheard her announce a few weeks back?

"Oh, come on now, you know there is going to be a level cap on that quest." Link replied. "She'd never host such a huge event and make it unfair like that. I wonder what the cap will be though? I hope its thirty."

"Level Cap?! Are you kidding me? Then all the newbies are gonna swarm the event. I could understand, I don't know, an enchantment that gives them some armor or something, but if this event is gonna be for the entire server, I highly doubt she'd plague the event with under achieved players."

"Well, maybe. I'd think Peach would give everyone a fair chance."

"Pssh, yeah! Even leachers, eh?"

"Sadly. But hey, do you think they'll be any RMs to fight?"

"Nah. But it'll be PVP!"

"Of course. So, Ness, did you hear they're gonna make another big announcement on the prize today?"

"It doesn't matter, what ever it is, it's gonna be nerfed in the next few weaks anyway."

"But still, it's gonna be great, right?"

"Obviously! I can't wait! Attack on the Castle FTW!"

"You know, speaking the acronym defeats the time-saving purpose of it, since it has more syllables that way."

"STFU."

Ness's last outburst caused Link to gasp. Although there online lingo was still slightly confusing, I think I was finally getting a handle on it... I think.

--

"So, uh, are we going?" Marth spoke up, snapping the two giddy players out of their event dreams.

"Oh, yes, sorry about that Marth!" Link apologized with a grin. "We've just been looking forward to this event since we first heard about it. Apparently, if you win this event, you become extremely famous and get great prizes! I mean, look at the last winner!"

Marth tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Uh... and just who is that?"

The two gasped in shock after hearing Marth's words. "Are you serious? I mean, are you seriously serious?!" Link began, his mouth nearly dropping to the ground.

"Of course he is!" Ness spoke up. "Remember Link, he's a newbie! I doubt he would have heard of him!"

Marth looked as if he was about to say something when Link cut him off, "Well, that is true..."

"WHAT?!"

"No! No, not in any bad sense, I mean!" Link quickly corrected, waving his hands wildly to try and calm the angry swordsman. "I mean, you're still new, you may not have heard his name! Plus, how long have you been playing this game? Not long, right? He hasn't done anything worth mentioning of the moderators since the last big event was held. It's no surprise you haven't heard of him."

"So, just who is he?" Marth asked once more.

"Why, it's Mario of course!" Link replied matter-of-factly.

"First person to reach level one hundred in the game!" Gushed the boy at Link's side.

"A prime example of what an Iron-Fist should be!"

"He's come in first at ever major event since the game's beginning."

"Rumor has it he's never died once."

"But thats a lie. But he has been playing the game since the first version."

"He's also best friends with the moderator, Peach!"

"And also pretty close with Luigi."

"Well, yeah, he is part of the Divine Twelve after all." Marth's ears perked up after hearing that bit of information, but he kept silent as the two continued to ramble on about this new hero.

"Yeah, so we've both met him, you know."

"And we both have his GID!"

"Unlike you."

"I'm sure he'd give Marth his once the two meet."

"Pssh, a great legend like him give his GID to a newbie? Please!"

Marth began to burst out laughing at the two, causing the duo to look at him strangely. "I'm sorry." Marth said through his laughter. "But you two are acting so much like fanboys or something right now."

Link looked away, a blush creeping across his avatar's face, while Ness looked as if he was about to say some witty comment back to Marth. After a moment or so, he finally gave a 'hmph', knowing deep down in his heart that Marth was right. "Hehe, sorry about that. But as you can see, he's very well known and respect in the SSBO community." Link spoke with a sheepish grin on his face.

"I can tell." Said the human with a smirk. But after his avatar stopped the laughing emotion, his face returned to normal and he asked, "So, are we going or not? I'd like to get pushed in the right way of my Final Smash sometime today!"

"Oh, yeah. Let's go! Theres a low level field in the Mushroom Kingdom server that will be perfect for training on."

Link took out one of the red warp pipes, which swallowed the party whole and teleported them off to the main town in Hyrule.

--

-Mushroom Kingdom-

Peach paced back and forth in her chamber, muttering something to herself as she walked. In the back, the screens showing every area in the server flickered with action, but none of which the administrator was witnessing. For a moment she paused, rethinking her thoughts, and the room fell silent. The silence was quickly broken, however, by the sound a player warping into the area. Peach turned, slightly shocked at seeing the player walk in. "Luigi! Oh, wow, what are you doing here? I thought you had work?"

"I was able to slip away from my job for a bit." Luigi said as he walked into the chamber. "When I came online, I got an angry message from Pit saying that you wanted to see me." He raised an eyebrow and awaited for the mage to explain.

"Oh, no. It's just about that run in you and he had with one of Bowser's warlocks. I wanted to get your side of the story before I complete my log on the event." She said. "But I figured-"

"Didn't Pit tell you what happened?" Luigi asked abruptly, cutting her off.

Peach nodded. "Yes. But, you see, according to him, he was killed before the entire ordeal was finished. He then told me the part that you told happened. I just wanted to run it by you first, to confirm and everything."

Luigi's face quickly changed from a normal expression to a hurt one. "Peach, you don't trust what I told him?"

"Oh no! Not you too!" She cried out. "It's not that, I trust both of you! I just want to make sure I get it from both of the sources. You understand, right?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." He replied with a nod. "Sorry But pretty much everything I told him was what happened. I could tell you it again from my point of view, but it won't be that different. You should just save time and send that log in as it is now."

"Well, if you say so. Still..." She paused and thought again. "Maybe I should go into the Kongo server log history and see if I can find the recording of the event."

Luigi looked puzzled. "Why didn't you just do that in the first place, then?"

"Because it will be troublesome to get that log from him with all the events going on in the offices right now. You know about-"

"Him getting fired?" Peach nodded. "Yeah, rumors all about the forums about the Kongo admin getting the boot. Weird theories, like he's the one to make the Wire Frames to he was working in Bowser's Warlocks at one point. Silly, huh? Anyway, I agree with you there. Don't go after the log, it'll just be a pain for the poor guy. If you insist, atleast wait until all the drama is over."

"Yes, I suppose that would be the best course of action."

"By the way, who will control Kongo if he does get fired?"

Peach scowled. "Falcon." She hissed. "He'd take control for the time being, until we can find another moderator to control that server. Apparently, he gave some long speech about how Kongo and my server are falling into ruin because of moderators like the two of us. You know, not too tough on hackers for their first offense, and sometimes interacting with normal players?"

"Bullshit."

"I know!" She sighed and sat down in a digital chair. "Whatever he said, though, got the higher ups thinking. But I know all he wants is control. All so that he can run the game how he thinks it should be run."

Luigi chuckled. "He sounds insane."

"Sounds?" Peach asked, raising her eyebrow at which Luigi gave another low laugh. "At any rate... Did you happen to read the posts on the forums before I deleted them? Before you warped in I was reviewing it."

"Can't say that I have. I just got to a PC and warped right here."

Peach held up her right hand. A moment later, a 2D light blue square appeared infront of it. She took it in her hand like a piece of paper and tossed it over to Luigi. "Here."

The square stopped infront of the fighter, allowing him to grasp it with his own hands and read the text that was inscribed on it. "Hey guys," Luigi began, reading the words aloud:

_...I happen to be chasing a squishy through the Chamber of Time about a half hour ago (his name was kirby! He was so cute :3!!!) when me and my friends ran into this room. There was this big flash of purple and this thingy came out of this circle and attacked us! We tried fighting back, but none of us could hurt it. It was WEIRD!!!!! But u want to know what was weird? My friends who were killed by the beast died all weird like. They turned into blocks or somethin! We figured we couldn't win, so we warped out of there and waited for the others to log bac on. But they never did! So I contacted my friend, who knew one of the players in real life, and he told me that her character was deleted! OMG it was so weird and freaky and now I'm afraid i'm gonna see another one of those things. u may think this is false, and if u do, ur lost. But this just is a warnning, if u see a purple wire thingy, RUN AWAY!!!!!!_

"I'm surprised..." Luigi spoke upon reading the last sentence. "...that her internet grammar is as well as it is. I could understand this post!"

"Joking aside, it's getting harder and harder to cover up the Wire Frames now." Peach said. "This post already had a few replies. Everyone is interested in them now. Oh, and needless to say, the, uh, 'squishy's' name was-"

"I know." The man in green tossed the square back to Peach which she made disappear as it apporched.

"I was hoping that you or Mario, or maybe one of the members in SSBM could check out the area?"

Luigi nodded, then checked his guild's current status. "Hmm... well, it's going to have to wait Peach. Link, Ness and Marth are on, and the first two have their status set to busy. Marth is free it seems, but he's still pretty new to this stuff and I wouldn't want to send him alone."

"Couldn't you go with him?"

"No, I'm on the clock right now. No time. If you want to wait till I get home..."

She shook her head. "No, theres not a whole lot of time to spare." After a moment, she sighed again and looked towards the large window in her chamber, over-looking the busy square filled with players dashing about. "Maybe I should contact the other guild, SSBB instead."

"Oh... really?" Peach couldn't help but giggle after hearing Luigi's slightly agitated tone at the mention of their rival guild. "Well, I'm sure they'd be more then happy too... although I can't say they'd do as good as a job as SSBM would."

Peach smirked. "Really now?" She asked. "Then it would surprise you to find out that they have gone as just as many missions as your guild has, hm?" Luigi's eyes jumped two sizes after hearing that information.

"What! You serious?" He nearly yelled in shock. "I thought we were the only guild you trust!"

"You are." Peach replied laughing. "You see, their base is in Kanto, so it's been Ash who is pulling their strings." Luigi began to relax again as she continued, "Besides, from what I've heard, they're not even twice as good as SSBM at what their doing."

Luigi nodded in agreement. "Well of course." Peach smiled once more, but it quickly faded as Luigi turned to leave. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but I have to get back to work now. Do what you can about this problem, if you can't get SSBB to complete this task, not only will I not be surprised, but I'll get right on it the second I get home. Alright?"

"Okay. Thanks for stopping by."

"Oh, one last thing." Peach let out a low 'hmm' before Luigi began to talk again, "Since I won't be on for the big announcement, how about you tell me right now what the prize is for that event?"

"Heh, that's a secret, I'm sorry." Peach answered with a wink. "You'll just have to wait. But I will give you a... well, a clue, I suppose." She turned and looked down at another light blue square, this time the words scrolling across it were retelling the story of Pit's encounter. "After this recent event, I want to bring all of our human enemies out into the open so we know what we're up against on the player side. And I figure this might be the best way to do it."

Luigi gave a small smirk and said, "Well, whatever the prize is, it must be pretty important if you plan on entering the contest."

"Not really important. I just want to make sure I'm there when we face our enemies." Replied the administrator with an innocent smile.

"Heh. Well, see ya!"

Peach waved to her friend as Luigi warped out of the area, leaving her alone to ponder her thoughts on the recent Wire Frame attack in silence.

--

Marth, Link and Ness loaded into a green, grassy field in the middle of the Mushroom Kingdom server. It looked, to Marth, like any other of the Mushroom Kingdom levels - green, rolling plains with a bright sun shine glaring down through the forever grinning clouds. The only major difference was in this world, cherries would hover in the sky above them, Marth witnessed other groups of players ripping turnips out of the ground to be thrown at monsters, and that there was a surprisingly cute creature known as a Pidgit floating around in the sky on a magic carpet, cackling maniacally in a small and cute programed voice.

"Uh..."

"Subcon!" Link quickly stated with a smile. "It's an... interesting, to say the least, level in the server. It's monsters aren't that strong up here, but you could travel into a cave a few yards away and go down deeper into the earth to fight stronger ones. It's the only multi-dungeon like it on the Mushroom Kingdom server."

"Wouldn't alot of people come here then?"

"You'd be surprised." The Hylian glanced about the field and pointed to his left. "There are no players over this way. Let's go."

The trio walked a short way and once they were out of the range of any other groups, Link sat Marth down on the grassy floor and began to explain about the Final Smash. "Okay! First, let me explain what a Sup- Final Smash is."

"You don't have too, I know already..." Marth muttered, looking away in boredom.

Ness growled. "PAY ATTENTION!" He shouted, snapping the blue haired man back to Link.

"The Final Smash is a very, very powerful move that only players who's avatars are connected with the 'Event' can use." Link began. "This move, sorta like our characters and the Wire Frames, go against the very rules of the game itself. When we use a Final Smash, our character's attack is amplified by nearly a hundred times, allowing you to destroy almost anything. And I use the term 'almost' lightly, as there has been nothing we can't destroy. We just can't assume we can take down everything yet. Two of the things we don't know about are players who are part of the event, or the Wire Frames. Heck, some hacked players may have resistance to the Final Smash, we're not just sure. But regardless, most normal things we can defeat no problem."

Marth nodded. "Yeah, I remember when you used it on that Boo thing. Some crazy damage you did to it."

"Yup." Link replied with a smile. "But there are downsides to this. Every time you use a Final Smash, the protective coding around your character is removed. And not just the coding that makes us immune from deletion from the moderators, but protection in general. We, while using a Final Smash, are pretty much naked in a gun fight. Your character data could very easily become corrupted by as something as simple as a Trojan virus on your PC and deleted."

"And we know this how?"

Link paused and thought it over. "Uh... Zelda... told me." He answered. "I'm... not sure how she knows, though. I'm sure Peach ran some sort of testing or whatnot while one of us used a Final Smash and got that for a result."

The sitting human began to laugh. "Or maybe its just a way to scare us into not using it as much!"

"Don't you dare speak of Zelda like that!" Ness snapped back. "Why would she give us misleading information on such an important skill when she herself knows whats at stake? Stupid runt."

"Calm down Ness. Sheesh." Link rolled his eyes and continued on explaining. "Regardless, you should still use the Final Smash with caution. And for very good reasons, I might add! Why would you want to go around, smashing everything into submission? That takes the fun out of the game!"

Marth nodded. "Thats true, I guess. But then again, that takes the fun out of being able to use such a super cool move!"

"We have a few ground rules that you must swear to follow before we even start your training. Three, to be exact." Link stated. "Rule one, you must never use this move infront of a player who is not part of the event, a player who does not know about the event or infront of a player who knows about the event, but can not be completely trusted. They will assume it is a hack of some sort and report you. Now, you can't be deleted unless you're performing the attack on the moderator themselves, but I can tell you, it's very annoying to have Captain Falcon bugging you ever five minutes about how you should be playing the game."

"Thats understandable." Said Marth with another nod. "Whats the next rule?"

"You should never use a Final Smash unless it is absolutely necessary." Link explained. "Like, if you happen to run into a Wire Frame, you could use the Final Smash to try and get away. Or a hacked monster. But out of those situations, you should have no reason to use a Final Smash."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "So why did you use it on that Boo?"

"I'm surprised you don't think that saving you is considered 'absolutely necessary'!" Link responded with another grin. "Well, in truth, I was late and I needed to go check out the area Zelda had asked me to see. And I knew that killing the Boo would take too long, so I just Final Smashed him into nothing."

"But the Boo only had like five HP left."

"After you took down that five HP, did you know he had another full bar of life?" Marth's face went pale and he shook his head slowly as he came to realize just how lucky he had gotten that Link showed when he did. "I didn't think so."

"And the final rule is?"

Link's cheerful face went to that of a stern one, shocking Marth slightly. "If you happen to break one of the first two rules, in all honesty, it can be delt with. But this rule, if you break it, there is no turning back from the consequences. Therefore, it is the most important rule you must swear to follow. Do you understand?" Marth nodded. "You must never, NEVER, even if this person is a hacker, or one of your greatest enemies or anything of the sort, use your Final Smash on another human player. Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course!" Marth quickly said, jumping off the ground. "I wouldn't even dream too!"

"Okay, good! So, do you swear to all of these rules?"

"I swear!" Marth replied with a grin. Link smiled aswell and clapped, while Ness just stood with his arms crossed. "So, hey, I got a question."

"Sure. What is it?"

"What would happen... if I did use it on a player?" Link and Ness's expressions quickly changed. Link's eyes widened and he looked down at the ground in shock, while Ness began to mutter curses to himself. Marth took no notice of the two's unpleasant reaction and continued, "I mean, has it ever happened? First hand, I mean? To one of you? Or someone else?"

A tension fell upon the trio. Link's worried face glanced up at Marth, then over to Ness. The boy was gripping his shoulders tighter and tighter, and the grumbles and curses coming from his mouth revealed to Marth that there was something that the boy wanted to say, but his player was using all of his will power to keep from saying it. The following moment felt like an eon to the group, and it finally ended with Ness turning his body completely away from the other two and walking off a little ways.

"Uh, well..." Link began, looking over at Marth, his worried expression slowly fading. "...In the daily tournaments, there is this player named Ganondorf. He is part of the event, and currently, he is the champion of the cup." He began to explain, his voice filled with uneasiness. "He's never lost once since he entered. And, well, the reason is... because he uses his Final Smash on his opponents in the final round."

Marth didn't take his eyes off Ness, but responded to Link, "Really? So, what happens to the players?"

"We're not sure. According to Peach, their accounts are fine. The player could log back on if they wanted too... they just, well, never do."

"Oh. Wow." He finally turned back to face Link directly. "Any guess on what does happen?" Link shook his head. "Thats odd. So, why don't the administers stop him! He just can't keep doing that, can he?!"

Link grumbled something to himself. "Well, you see... although some players think it's cheating, most of the players, who are his fans, think that the move is some super secret champ only move. Or a move that only a male Gerudo could use. There is only one male Gerudo made per millionth sign up, so they're very rare to come by and most players wouldn't pause to think that. And the admins waited too long to act. If they act now, it will look as if they're just-"

"Taking him out of power cause he's won too much?" Link nodded in agreement with what Marth had said. "I see."

"Sometimes, I think it would be easier to just tell everyone about the 'Event'." Link muttered, a rare frown crossing his face. "But those moderators don't take this threat seriously. And all they care about is money they get from users buying the game... And I doubt the 'Event' would make people want to join the game."

"Oh, I see." Marth and Link both turned and began to walk over towards Ness, who was busy staring at a wandering monster that had just slayed a passing team. "Oh, uh... what happened to-"

"Not now." Link said, holding a hand up to stop the swordsman. "Later. Ness, we're going to begin training now. C'mere."

Ness turned around and walked over to the other two quietly. "There's a Shy Guy over there. He just killed a party of level fives." Muttered the boy, pointing to the wandering beast. "Have the newbie try it out on him first."

"Okay then!" Link replied, his cheerful tone returning. "Marth, let me tell you how I learned how to use my Final Smash. Ah, I remember it well." He thought back to the day and began to tell the tale, "Ness and I, well, at the time he was Ninten, were doing... well, he was more or less, doing it for me, a hard quest. We were in Hyrule, I believe the place was called Kokiri Village or something. Ness got swarmed by tons of monsters, and his healing spells kept getting interrupted. Ninten died, and the beasts all turned their bloodthirsty gaze on me. I was worried, nervous, and I felt really bad, because I felt I had let Ness down."

"And?"

"I didn't want to go down without a fight, though. So I charged into battle, and was beaten very badly. Just as the monsters were closing into finish me off, my blade began to glow golden. I, I mean myself as a player, suddenly felt a wave of confidence come over me, and I jumped at the beasts. Pretty much what happened was what you saw, I slashed them into nothing."

Marth was slightly confused over Link's story. "So, you need to get beaten up before you can use it?"

"No." Ness interjected. "When I first used mine... well..."

"Let's just say, we think it's tied more in with our emotions." Link explained.

"OKay, NOW you've lost me completely." Said the swordsman. "Our emotions, as in... us, not the avatars... can somehow trigger a Final Smash?"

Link nodded. "I know, I know it seems hard to understand. But thats really the only common thread all of our Final Smash's had. Each one of the members of SSBM used their Final Smash during a time their emotions were stronger then normal. Also... we, well... I don't wanna say it, or you may think I'm really crazy."

"Too late for that. Go on, what is it?"

"During the first time we use our Final Smash, we all heard... a voice. A voice whispering something we couldn't make out."

--

My eyes shot wide open after hearing what Link had just mentioned. A voice... A voice whispering something.

"That happened to me... on the first day I ever played this game." I spoke into the headset. "When I made Marth. My computer went all wacky and I could have sworn I heard someone whispering to me. A deep voice."

"Ah! So you've heard it before!" I made Marth nod at Link's conclusion. "Then you'd know what we're talking about. We honestly have no idea who that voice belongs too, but Zelda believes its of Master Hand."

"Really?" Link nodded and I suddenly felt weird. Confused, I suppose. How could a computer program talk to you? Argh, I don't know! I honestly can't put my thoughts into words anymore on this subject. All I know is that this Master Hand thing is getting harder and harder to believe, but as it does, it's getting harder and harder to stop wanting to push deeper, learn more and stop whatever is happening in the game.

I shook my head and continued, "But still, how could a game know how I'm feeling?"

Link shrugged. I guess he really didn't know, either. "I suppose there could be a program? I honestly haven't a clue. I'm sorry Marth."

"Well... I suppose this whole Master Hand and Event stuff is getting so weird that anything is possible now, eh?" I said as I walked Marth towards the wandering Shy Guy. "So how do I go about this whole smash thing?"

"When I first used mine, I felt an urge to never given in, not to stop. To keep trying." Explained the Hylian. "So, uh... I guess you should try that first."

Marth nodded and turned to face the Shy Guy. The cute little monster was bouncing up and down in place. It really didn't seem threatening at to me. Poor thing. Regardless, I made Marth lift his saber and charge at the waiting Shy Guy. "ALRIGHT THEN!" I called out, gripping my controller tighter. I gotta feel confident. This shouldn't be hard, I'm fighting a freaking level ten monster. As I entered the range of the beast, it turned its head in my direction and the battle tune began to play in my speakers.

"Brave, strong, confident. I can't lose to a little level ten-"

Before I could finish, the Shy Guy head butted Marth in the chest, knocking the blue swordsman to the ground and reducing about ten percent of my life bar to nothing.

"This might be harder then I thought..."

"Tell me about it."

I rolled my eyes at the two back seat party members and got Marth up off the ground. The Shy Guy charged again and I quickly inputted the command for Marth to jump over the charing monster and slash it from behind once he landed. Like always, Marth followed my commands perfectly, dealing about 30 damage to the guy. The little thing bounced backwards and let out a slight moan of pain. It turned around and charged at my character again, this time it's body covered slightly in a light red aura.

"Alright then" I told myself, pressing up on my arrow key. "Here we go... confidence... confidence. I can't lose to this little level ten monster!"

--

The Shy Guy charged towards Marth and jumped into the air, trying to complete another headbutt. However, Marth instead pulled back his blade and in a moment later, his weapon shot forward,it's blade glowing a deep blue. "YAAAA!" Cried the CPU voice as his blade smashed into the little monster and destroyed it easily, giving Marth and his party about three experience points a piece. "Woah, I've never done that before!" Marth exclaimed. "Was that the Final Smash?"

"Sadly, no." Link replied. "That was a normal smash attack. It's an odd attack that occurs randomly. Sorta like a 'Major Hit', but a bit rarer. Every character can do that. It's part of the reason this game is called Super SMASH Brothers Online."

"Oh..." Marth muttered. "So that wasn't anything special?"

Link shook his head and Ness let out a low mutter. "How about you try it my way." Spoke the boy. "When I used it, I felt such a rush of anger, so much pleasure in destroying the, uh, monster that my Final Smash just exploded out of me. So, like... there." Ness pointed to another roaming Shy Guy, this one with about half health. "Newbies must be having a hard time today. Go, attack that one. Picture it as the most annoying person you've ever met, and feel the rush of anger exploding from you."

"Oh, that shouldn't be so hard!" The swordsman jogged over to the wandering Shy Guy and engaged it in battle. The typical battle music began to play and the Shy Guy began to march towards Marth.

--

Could Ness have made this any easier? I moved Marth into fighting range and began to attack. Two swipes of my sword lowered the little creatures HP bar drastically. In response, unlike the other Shy Guy, this one turned and began to run away.

"Okay most annoying person I've ever met..." I muttered. Slowly, but surely, I could see the little red wobbling monster transform from it's cute mask self into the almost perfect version of the little annoying Ness. An annoying Ness with only about 6 HP points left. So I did what Ness told me too, I remembered back to all the mean and negative comments he told me. I also added more, just to make my blood pressure rise even more. And it was working, I could feel myself getting anxious and saw Marth's blade glowing a slight blue color.

"Yes! Yes! It's working!"

I made Marth charge forward once more, raising his blade over his head and struck the Ness-Shy Guy in the back. There was another big explosion, and the monster was reduced to pieces of data. "I did it! Got him!"

"Another smash attack." I heard Ness call out. "You didn't do anything!"

...Atleast I got SOME anger out of me.

--

"Well, atleast we know our methods are working." Link said as Marth marched back to the other two. "He got two smashes in a row. Extremely rare. If he can use it a third time, there will be no doubt in my mind that we are on the right track."

"You think of me?" Ness asked, ignoring Link's comment. Marth grinned and nodded. "That's why it didn't work. There has gotta be someone more annoying then me, you stupid newbie."

Marth took a deep breath. "Well, yes. But it's a pretty close race..."

They walked about a bit more until they finally came across another spawn of monsters. Three more Shy-Guys spawned and the trio went quickly into battle. Link took out one of the Shy Guys fast, slicing it to pieces with a single slash of his blade. Ness, on the other hand, fried the second Shy Guy with a spell he called "PK Thunder Beta". The final Shy Guy was left for Marth. "Try again." Link spoke, pointing to the monster. "Do what emotion you can. Which ever brought you the closest. You can do it Marth!"

"I'll try." The swordsman walked forward and fought. Two slices of his sword brought the beast down to about twenty HP. "This time I'll try, um... sadness!"

Ness looked confused. "Sadness? Thats an odd choice, but hey whatever. Just hurry, the announcement is happening in five minutes."

Marth pulled back his blade, it flashed blue and he launched up another large attack, destroying the Shy Guy on contact. "Another smash?" Marth asked, looking back at the other two. Link nodded. "Darn!"

Over the next five minutes, the same ritual took place. The trio engaged in a battle, Marth tried a different emotion and each time ended in another smash attack. "This is hopeless. I told you, Link." Ness muttered to his friend as the two watched Marth do battle with a Pidgit floating above them.

"This time I'm going to try angst!" Cried the human, who was swiping his sword at the monster that continued to escape his grasp.

Link shook his head. "No, this isn't a loss Ness. We're making progress, I can tell. Marth may just need some... well, help. Let's try imagery?" Link shouted over to the desperate swordsman, "MARTH! PICTURE A DOVED WALL!"

"A what?" Both Marth and Ness asked in unison.

"THIS WALL IS ALL THAT IS KEEPING YOU FROM THE FINAL SMASH! SHATTER THE DOVED WALL, AND BREAK IT DOWN AND FREE THE BIRDS! FREE THEM MARTH, FREE THEM!" He continued to scream. "FREE THE DOVES AND LEARN YOUR FINAL SMASH!"

Marth's face was so filled with confusion that no words could honestly describe it. Ness just gave the taller Hylian an interesting stare, asking very calmly, "What are you smoking and where can I get some?"

"A... doved wall?" Marth repeated in shock.

"Yes! A brick wall with doves on top of it." Explained Link as if it was common sense.

"Uh... okay..." Marth swung his sword and slashed the Pidgit, destroying it instantly. This time, not even in a smash attack. "...Poor birds."

Ness sighed upon the latest two experience points. "Alright, this has been _so _much fun, but Link, it's time for the announcement! Let's go, c'mon!"

Link looked over at Marth with a sadder smile. "I guess we couldn't get you to do it. But don't worry about it, Marth! I knew you couldn't teach it... but I figured we could atleast try. Regardless, atleast now you know a way to bring it out and when you use it for your first time, you won't be completely confused on what you just did."

"After the first time, how would I use it again?"

"It just comes out... not sure, really. If you think you'll need to use it, it happens."

"Okay. So are you two going to watch the announcement?" Link nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna go level up some more. I'll see you later, Link. And you too, Ness."

"See ya, Marth!" Link said, waving to his friend as he left the party and disappeared down a warp pipe. Ness left shortly after, warping out silently.

--

-Hyrule-

Jigglypuff and Kirby were busy chatting in a far off section of the busy town. "So, then I told him that if he wants an autograph, he'd have to wait!"

Jigglypuff laughed at Kirby's joke and the two continued to talk for a bit longer. "Uh, anyway... Kirby... onto a more important matter." Jigglypuff spoke softly. "Are you sure you didn't send me that e-mail? With the directions?"

"No, I didn't." Kirby replied, shaking his head. "I would have asked you too come to a lower level field, not Temple of Time! Who else could have written it? What was the e-mail address?"

"It was yours." Said the healer. "I wouldn't have been fooled other wise. I've... been tricked like that before in this game. I wouldn't fall for the same trick twice."

Kirby pondered what his sister had just said and finally nodded. "I gotcha. But I swear to you, I didn't write it. Maybe... I had better sign off for a bit."

"Huh? Why!?"

"Because, if I didn't write it and you got it from MY address... that means that... my e-mail might have been hacked by someone." Jiggypuff gasped slightly, then nodded understanding what Kirby meant. "Don't worry, I won't be long. I'm just going to change my password and check my sent mail to see."

"Okay. Hurry back!" Kirby nodded and disappeared from the server, logging off from the game. Jigglypuff remained seated for a moment or so, then stood up to leave. She was about to log off when a mysterious voice called out to her from behind.

"Poor fool. If his e-mail account was truly hacked, then changing his password will do nothing against an expert hacker." Jigglypuff spun around, and her surprised looked quickly relaxed upon seeing who was behind her. "Hello, Jigglypuff."

"Hey. Whats up? I rarely see you-"

"We have a mission." Jigglypuff snapped to attention upon hearing the news. "Apparently, a Wire Frame was located in an area in Hyrule not too long ago by Peach. She asked SSBM to handle it, but like always, they were incompetent and couldn't perform their tasks. I highly doubt, despite their constant failures, that this event will make Peach rethink where her trust in the guilds lie."

Jigglypuff grinned, although her voice showed a different emotion, "Uh... yeah, when will she learn! Stupid SSBM."'

"...Heh. As requested by Peach, though, the task was handed to Ash. Our moderator just got in contact with me moments ago to tell me of our assignment."

"Oh. So our leader isn't online?"

"Not at the moment."

Jigglypuff nodded. "Okay then. So... what do you-"

"I want you to complete this mission."

"WHAT?!" Jigglypuff shouted. Had the two not been alone, it would have been loud enough to reach over the endless chatting of the town. "I-I mean... why me? I... uh, I'm still very new. I haven't gone on any other missions yet! I don't know what to do. Will you be coming?"

"Perhaps."

She sighed and sat back down. "I can't do this alone. Not yet... can't-"

"It's just you and me online, Jigglypuff. And, according to Ash, this task can not wait a moment more. Please go to the Temple of Time and confront the Wire Frame." Jigglypuff's eyes shot open at the name of the area. "I take it you've been there?"

Jigglypuff nodded slowly. "Yes... earlier today."

"Good, then your familiar with the area. Jigglypuff, I want this mission complete. No mistakes. Take any means you need to complete it, just make sure it gets done. Do I make myself clear?" Jigglypuff nodded once again. "Good. You are a true member of SSBB, you know that? A typical member would likely run away in fear of their character being deleted. It's truly an honor to be working with you."

"Uh.. thanks." Jigglypuff weakly muttered as her guild member disappeared into the shadows once again. "...What on earth am I going to do now?" She wandered aimlessly back to town, thinking over her options. About five minutes later, she received a whisper from Kirby, telling her that he was coming back online. "Well, I suppose I could invite Kirby along... he is part of the event, I think... But there is no way I can do this alone."

--

Marth loaded into Hyrule quickly and began to walk about the large square. "Let's see, I suppose I should pick up some items." He muttered, wandering off to the item shop. He was again greeted by the mysterious NPC in a green jump suit with rosey red cheeks.

"Welcome!" Sung the little man. "Would you like to buy a map? No? How about one of these..."

The list of items shot up onto the screen and Marth began to shop through. "Hm, this looks good... wait... WHAT THE? Why are the Heart Pieces like five thousand rupees! Ugh, what a rip off... Oh! Whats that? Hm... Darn, sold out? Okay, I'll have to come back for that item later. Oh well, thats it for now!"

A moment past and Marth finished his shopping. "Thank you! Tingle-Tingle Kooloo-Limpa!"

Had Marth not already been accustomed to such oddities in the game, he would have made a comment. But, instead, he calmly walked out the door and into the main square of Hyrule to be met by the two puffballs that he had left a while ago. "Kirby? Jigglypuff? What's up you two?"

"Hi Marth." Jigglypuff greeted. "I was wondering if you could help me and Kirby with something."

--

-Temple of Time-

Marth, Jigglypuff and Kirby loaded into the first grand room of the multi-layered Temple of Time. "So, there was a Wire Frame down below?" Marth inquired as the group began to descend the stairs.

"Yes." Jigglypuff answered. "My guild was given the task to find it. And since most of the guild wasn't online, I was chosen to complete it. Apparently, SSBM was all busy."

"So your guild gets missions from Peach too?" Marth asked in shock. "And you are already being sent on missions alone?! How lucky! Maybe I should join SSBB."

Kirby looked confused on the entire matter. "I don't quite understand. Wire Frames... the purple things, right? The people have been whispering about on the forums? You're guilds... are like... secret operations that try to destroy them, and get direct command from the moderators themselves?!" Jigglypuff and Marth nodded. "...Darn. Wish I had known sooner. And what your saying is..."

"You're part of the 'Event'." Jigglypuff explained. "It's, uh, the whole big thing surrounding the Wire Frames... what it means is that you can help us destroy this Wire Frame."

Jigglypuff's brother looked weirded out, but he nodded. "Okay. If these Wire Frame things really are bad like you said, I'd be honored to help out in anyway I can!"

"Heh. Jigglypuff, did you explain to him everything about the event yet?" Marth asked as they reached the first empty room. She shook her head no and Marth gave a little laugh. "So thats why your so willing to help us out." He said, turning to Kirby. "You don't know the full story yet."

"I didn't have time to tell him." Jigglypuff explained. "And, um... I didn't think it mattered right now. Plus... I'm not sure if even my brother would believe me right away..."

"Why? Is it some whacked up believe that there is like an evil god in this game trying to bring about the end of the game itself?" Jigglypuff and Marth exchanged odd glances, then looked back at the other puffball. "...Lucky guess?"

They entered the chamber and were quickly greeted by two floating orbs. Marth and Jigglypuff readied their weapons, but instead Kirby walked infront of the two and pushed them to the side. "Kirby?" Marth asked confused as he took the front line. "What are you doing?"

"How about you guys let me show you what a Shifter can do, ok?" Kirby replied with a cute grin. The Like-Likes took formation and began to slowly move their way towards Kirby. The little pink warrior didn't run, nor did he charge into attack. Instead, he brought his two little hands together, and began to glow a deep red. Within moments, the red aura faded and upon the little puffballs head was an orange bandana. He lowered his hands and smirked, and then charged forward at the Like Likes, disappearing in a flash. All Marth and Jigglypuff could see was a flash of pink and yellow jump about the area, slowly decreasing the HP bars of the Like Likes. But it wasn't before long that the two monsters stopped in their tracks, exploded into puddles of juice and died, ending the battle.

"Woah."

"What did Kirby just do Marth?"

Before Marth could answer, Kirby reappeared infront of them, his fists glowing a dying yellow color. "Like it?" He asked with a smile. As he smiled, his orange head band vanished and his fist ceased glowing. "Thats the power of a Shifter."

"That you can bounce about the room like an insane gumball on a sugar rush?" Marth asked.

"No. That I can control any of the other classes moves." Marth and Jigglypuff 'ooohed' in a reply. "Ugh, let me explain. Shifter is a class where the user can, for a limited amount of time, control the power and skills of any of the other classes. Our power is slightly weaker, and we can never have a second profession, but it's all made up for by the fact that I could easily be a Swordsman for one minute, then switch over to be a Healer the next. Like, for example, I was just a Fighter. And if I want, I could become a Ranger next! Shifter's are the most vestal of all the classes, but are.. in a sense, the weakest, since we'll never be as strong as a higher level job."

"How'd you get that job?"

"Random give away quest." He explained. "I was only level ten when I got it. It was an easy quest, and I beat out the other nine players to get the job. It's a pretty rare and tough job, but I love it!"

Marth laughed. "I hope I get that quest. Now THATS the job I want."

"Well, good luck finding it!" Kirby replied. "I heard they discontinued the class because it was so hard to use. Who knows. But enough about my class, we need to keep on moving!"

Jigglypuff and Marth agreed and the three pressed forward. Each floor lead to more and more Like Likes, but time and again, they were defeated by Kirby and his Shifter powers. By the time the trio reached the floors where the monsters were too powerful, Kirby lead them safely down, deeper and deeper into the temple until they reached the room where they first met their new friend. "Here we are." Kirby said as they entered the chamber. "This is the room that we met."

"You know the way from here, right?" Marth asked. Kirby nodded and pointed forward.

"The other two halls are dead ends. Let's keep going." They pushed onwards into the next room and final room. It looked like the same room they had just come from, a run-down version of the very first room in the entire area. Once they entered the room, the door behind them slammed shut, locking the three within.

"What's going on!" Jigglypuff shouted, looking back at the locked door.

"It's just cause we entered the boss battle area, relax." Kirby answered. A moment or so past and no boss spawned, and so Kirby began to wander about the area. "Doesn't look like a boss is going to show, though."

No sooner did Kirby speak did a large purple circle appear in the middle of the chamber. The puffball took a step back as Jigglypuff and Marth rushed forward. "A circle with an off-centered cross." Jigglypuff whispered. "So... this is... the Wire Frame."

Marth took out his sword and Jigglypuff her staff. Kirby looked around the room confused. "Is this the thing you were talking about? I mean, this doesn't look like a normal boss battle! Aaah! Oh no!"

"Don't worry." Marth said reassuringly. "You're Kirby, from the event. This Wire Frame can be destroyed by you."

From the center of the circle came the creature Marth was talking about. This Wire Frame was tall. Tall and slender, it's face sort of looking like a cat. It had a long tail, and it's odd hands were shaped as balls. Jigglypuff read aloud the name of the Wire Frame, 'WirFra./MUW2' "Could that be..."

Marth didn't wait for Jigglypuff. Instead he rushed forward and slashed the beast vertically down it's body. WirFra./MUW2 was knocked back, but it quickly regained it's balance and floated towards Marth. It thrusted it's hands forward, striking Marth with great force and sent him flying backwards into the wall, his body covered in a dark purple aura. Marth's body fell to the ground, his HP reaching below critical. "Life Up Beta!" Jigglypuff called, healing the near dead swordsman but only barely. "Kirby, do something while I heal Marth! Life Up Beta!"

Kirby nodded and brought his two hands together again. This time, his body glowed yellow and upon his head, once the glowing ceased, was a witch's hat. "Ember!" He cried, holding his little stub of a hand out. A blast of fire shot towards the Wire Frame, at which the beast easily and gracefully dodged. "Ember!" Kirby cried again, shooting another blast, which the monster too dodged. "Ember! Ember! Ember!"

WirFra./MUW2 dodged each one easily, slowly but surely making it's way in closer to Kirby. As it closed the final gap inbetween itself and Kirby, Marth, his HP filled to green, jumped between the two and stabbed WirFra./MUW2 in the gut. His blade began to glow blue and his avatar cried out, "DOLPHIN SLASH!" Once shouting his move, Marth rose upwards into the air, his blade following close behind, slicing straight up through the Wire Frame and dealing a large amount of damage to the creature. But since it wasn't know to any of the players just how much HP a Wire Frame had, no one could tell if Marth had done enough or barely any at all.

Marth landed and charged towards the monster again, swinging his blade about wildly. WirFra./MUW2 tried to dodge, and dodged a few, but most of Marth's wild strikes hit home, knocking the monster further and further back. "Keep him busy Marth!" Kirby said as his hands began to glow a crimson. "I'm using my strongest move, I just need some time to charge it up!"

"Okay!"

Marth continued to slash the beast, and after about three combos, WirFra./MUW2 shot its hands out forward again and struck Marth for a direct hit, knocking him up into the air.

"Life Up BETA!" Jigglypuff cried, healing the falling swordsman. "Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta!"

Once Marth crashed into the ground, the Wire Frame turned towards Jigglypuff. It held it's hands to it's side and in between his two hands a dark purple sphere began to appear. It grew larger and larger, and finally when it was bigger then its hands, the monster flung its arm forwards, sending the orb soaring towards Jigglypuff like a bowling ball. The small healer began to panic, and was about to move when Marth jumped in between the two and held his sword behind his back. His body glowed a light silver as the orb struck him. "COUNTER!" Cried Marth's character as he quickly swung his sword around to reflect the blast back towards WirFra./MUW2. The huge orb smashed into the monster, sending it flying across the temple and into the chamber wall with a huge programed explosion.

Marth's MP decreased by a good sum, and his HP, although did not decrease in size, it's total number fell. Marth quickly read over the text that scrolled below his screen:

**Your last attack has WEAKENED your character! They will suffer from WEAKNESS until a player removes this condition or it expires. WEAKNESS lowers your total HP and MP by 25 Percent**

"I guess thats a side effect..." Marth muttered as his character fell to one knee.

WirFra./MUW2 began to crawl out of the wall. It shook it's body a few times to rid itself of unseen debris and began to float back towards Marth and his party. "Kirby!" Jigglypuff cried as the Wire Frame began to charge up another one of the huge purple orbs. "Please, hurry!"

"Here we go... METEOR SHOWER!" Kirby cried out, pointing its hands towards the monster. No sooner then he did the motion did a huge piece of stone fly down from the sky. It slammed into the Wire Frame, smashing it into the ground and dealing around 100 damage. Only about a second later did another meteor come smashing down in the crater. And then another, and another. Ten seconds later, ten rocks came smashing down upon the poor monster, dealing well over a thousand damage.

"Woah." Marth spoke once the finally stone had smashed. "And that's... even weaker then the real attack?"

"It's banned in PVP boards, you know." Kirby answered. But soon as he did, the witch's hat vanished and he himself fell to the ground, his character being effected by weakness aswell. "Oops. Forgot about this part..."

When the smoke cleared, WirFra./MUW2 rose up from the hole created by the meteors and once again began to float slowly towards the group. "He's coming again!" Jigglypuff said in fear, stepping back a bit. Both Marth and Kirby were on their knees, and the affliction 'weakness' could only be cured by a higher level Recovery spell. "Uh-oh!"

WirFra./MUW2 began to once again charge up another orb of darkness. Marth and Kirby tried moving, but their avatars quickly fell back to their knees in pain. Jigglypuff began to point her staff forward, causing small balls of light to fly out and hit the wire frame for about one damage a piece. But nothing she could do would stop the beast from charging the ball. "HMMMM!" Grunted the Wire Frame as it threw the fully charged ball towards the small puffball. She tried to move out of the way, but her class slowed her down and she was struck dead on by the on coming orb sending her flying into the left wall.

WirFra./MUW2 turned away from the body of Jigglypuff and turned his attention to the two weakened players. "JIGGLYPUFF!" Cried Marth, trying to see what had happened. "Oh no, if she dies-"

"...Huh?" Jigglypuff poked her head out from the crater, perfectly fine. "I'm okay...? How?"

"You're welcome." Everyone in the chamber turned to see a new entity enter, floating down from the ceiling itself. It's entire body was covered in a deep purple aura. Slowly it descended onto the floor of the chamber and when it did the purple glow disappeared. In its place, was, surprisingly, a look-a-like of the wire frame. The same body, shape and tail, everything about the player was the same, including the name.

Character: Mewtwo  
Race: Pokemon  
Class: Psychic/Healer  
Level: 80  
HP: 705  
MP: 800

"Mewtwo... I thought you said you weren't coming?" Jigglypuff asked as Mewtwo walked towards the battle field.

"I said 'perhaps', Jigglypuff." Replied the pokemon. "And you should be thanking me for showing when I did. If I had not put a block up around you when that attack had hit, I believe you're character would be half way deleted by now." WirFra./MUW2 quickly took notice of the newcomer and turned it's gaze upon him. It wasted no time floating over to Mewtwo, it's hands showing it was ready to attack. Mewtwo, however, smirked and held out his hand. Before the Wire Frame could even reach Mewtwo, two white lines appeared infront of it. The Wire Frame stopped mid-float, having hit an invisible wall. From all the other sides surrounding the Wire Frame, more white lines appeared. Once about four lines appeared, the lines transformed into a white box, completely incasing the Wire Frame.

"What kind of move was that?" Marth asked, his character slowly standing back up.

"Nothing special..." Mewtwo replied with a grin. "Just a simple hack."

The white block rapidly began to decrease in size until it was only about the size of a small paper weight. Once compressed, the cube floated over to Mewtwo, who grabbed it and caused it to vanish. Once it vanished, the huge purple rift disappeared and the room went quiet. "Finally!" Kirby muttered as his character stood up. "I hate weakness."

Marth paid no mind to Kirby's sentence and quickly went back to facing Mewtwo. "So, wait, what the heck just happened? Did you just kill the Wire Frame?"

"I'm not at liberty to explain that to you..." Mewtwo paused for a moment to read over Marth's name. "Hmm... Jigglypuff... may I ask-"

"He's my friend!" She shouted out. "I know he's from SSBM... I know. Im sorry! But I'm not going to pretend I don't like my friend anymore just cause of this guild, okay?"

Mewtwo raised an eyebrow and looked back at Marth. "You're in SSBM? I see. I was going to ask you, Jigglypuff, if you have gotten in contact with our leader about these two. It seems they are both part of the 'Event' after all."

"Oh..."

"But know that I know..."

"Oh! No, please don't tell him! He'll kick me out, I know it!"

Mewtwo smirked and turned away. "Once again you jumped to conclusions. But yes, I will think about it. After all, you did complete your mission. And this boy from SSBM did help you. So I suppose it just might slip my mind this time." He floated out of the room, stopping only once to tell Jigglypuff, "Oh, and while you're at it, try and get the thing that looks like you to join our guild. He might be useful. I'll see you back at the hall."

He left the chamber and disappeared in a purpleish aura. "Who the heck was that?!" Marth shouted once the pokemon was gone.

"Oh... that was Mewtwo." Jigglypuff explained. "He's in our guild, SSBB. He's a hacker who, um, helps us get to places where we're really not suppose to go. For investigation."

"But what did he do to the Wire Frame?" Marth asked in confusion. "Did he kill it?"

"I'm not sure myself..." She muttered. "Honestly... I've never seen him fight before. I have no idea. I'll try asking but... Mewtwo is like a puzzle. You ask him one question and you'll be left with two more."

Marth looked puzzled. "Uh... I'm really very, very confused about whats going on here." Kirby said, looking about the room nervously. "Could... uh... someone please explain?"

**LINK: MAAAAAAAARTH! OMG OMG GET TO HYRULE RIGHT NOW!!!!! OMFG :(!!**

Marth jumped again as Link's whisper burst across his screen. "Yack. Uh, Jigglypuff... I'm going to need to let you explain it. I'm getting pulled away again."

"Wait Marth!"

Marth left the party and warped out of the area, leaving the two alone once again. "...Jigglypuff, you know, no matter what this thing is, I'll believe you right?" Kirby spoke quietly, walking up to his sister.

"...Okay. Well, then... you better make sure your sitting down."

--

**YOU ARE NOW LOADING INTO HYRULE . . .**

My screen was black, with those words being the only ones scrolling about. Today, so far, has been so hectic. First I find my long-lost friend, go adventure with her and find her brother. No sooner did that happen did I get pulled away to learn my final smash, and finally begin to come closer to the 'Event'. THEN I go off and fight a freaking WIRE FRAME, meet some freaky cat, and now I'm getting summoned back to Hyrule again. "GEEZ!" I shouted, slumping down in my chair some. What does a person have to do to just buy some ITEMS around here?

I looked out my window and a frown quickly found its way to my face. The sun was already starting to set. And here I was - _still _playing the game I only wanted to waste a "moment or so" on.

And by the looks of things, the day is no where near over yet...

Wonderful.

CONTINUE...?


	16. LOGIN 15

A/N: This chapter is going to be pretty boring compaired to the others. So you know what ?!

ZOMG!! FILLER D:!!!!!!!!! IN A FANFIC?! HOOOOW?!

The reason is simple, all you need to know out of this chapter is the grand prize. Everything else isn't AS important (well... I guess it is). I wanted to make the events in this chapter happen last chapter, but that chapter ran too long for my tastes and so i had to break it up. I hope you enjoy this chapter in all it's filler status :D

Okay so you may want to know why this chapter took so long. Few Reasons:  
1) My friend got me back into playing a Children's Card Game. If you know what I'm talking about, that's super special awesome.  
2) I work at a video game store... and guess what holiday just happened? So you know, put holiday plus new age crack together equals busy busy busy.  
3) I'm just so damn lazy... :D

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #15: The Grand Prize**

--

--Hyrule Castle--

The large castle hall way was filled to the teeth with players, all swarming about the chamber, muttering to their party. Voices filled the area and drowned out the gothic music - a very rare accomplishment indeed for such a barren level. Off in the corner, however, there was a little secret meeting going on that the other players couldn't see.

Link and Ness behind the protective field set up by the character the two avatars were angrily glaring at. This player was none other then the system administer, Peach. "What the heck were you thinking!?" Link screamed towards the system admin. "Why on EARTH would you make her part of the prize?"

Peach sighed. "I figured that it would be the best way to lure our enemies out into the open, so we know who we are facing."

"But Peach, this isn't the best way to go about it." Ness said. "Why couldn't we have just-"

"I'll have you know, she herself agreed to the terms and thought it was a wonderful idea." Explained the admin. "Infact, it was partly her idea."

The trio heard the sound of a player warping into the field. Not more then a moment later did the two large doorways of Hyrule Castle push open and in strolled the blue haired swordsman, Marth. "Marth! It's about time!" Link cried, walking over to his friend.

"Sorry I was late, I was busy helping a friend..." Marth muttered as he walked in.

"C'mere!" Link grabbed Marth and dragged him into the corner. A moment later, the avatars of Ness and Peach became visible to the swordsman and the text scrolled across Marth's screen:

**You have entered a PROTECTIVE FIELD. While in this, as long as a system admin maintains the PF, you're avatar will not be seen by other players.**

"Woah. Thats weird." Marth spoke as he entered the field. "Uh... hey guys?"

"Marth, you'll never believe what Peach did!" Link nearly shouted.

Marth looked at his friend confused. "Uh... what did she do?"

"SHE-"

"Why don't you let me explain, Link." Peach said calmly, walking up past the Hylian. Before Link could respond, Peach touched the swordsman shoulder, and a beam of white energy surrounded the Hylian's mouth. "You've been mooted, just in case. Sorry, Link, but you see I figured it would be for the best to not get your false details messed in with the truth." Link growled and tried to rip off the beam, but to no avail. Peach smiled at her work and moved closer to Marth. "Hello there, Marth. I believe this is the first time we've met."

"Erm, no. I mean, I saw you back a... while ago." Marth replied.

"Did you?"

"When you first made an announcement about an event."

"You were there?"

"Yes... I was... the guy trampled by the herd of players."

Peach thought about it for a moment. "...Was there a girl who looked like me with you?"

"You mean Daisy? Oh, yeah."

"I remember now. I saw you off in the distance and felt bad." Marth sighed, Ness giggled and Peach frowned. "Marth, I hope that you're not friends with that wicked girl right? She goes about the server proclaiming the idea that I stole her avatar! The nerve!"

Marth began to laugh nervously. "Uh... nope."

"Oh. Well, good. If you were there for the announcement, then that saves me explaining the event. So I'll skip right to the chase. I'm sure you've heard that today I was going to make a big announcement about the prize, correct?"

Marth nodded. "Yeah, hard not to know with those two blabbing on about it for about ten minutes straight." He said, pointing to the silent Link and the surprisingly quiet Ness. "Why?"

"Well, you see... have you been informed about the recent attacks witnessed by Pit and Luigi?" He shook his head. So did Ness and Link, but Peach didn't seem to notice the other two. "Pit and Luigi were sent on a mission by Zelda to investigate an area I believed to have Wire Frame activity. When they arrived at the end, they did indeed find a Wire Frame, but not only a Wire Frame, but one of Bowser's Warlocks. His elite hackers, if you will."

"I see."

"They did battle and what not, and in the end, both Pit and Luigi were killed by the Warlock known as Devil. But that is not the real importance. Prior to this event, I only had intelligence that could suggest that Bowser's Warlocks were taking part in the event. After this incident, however, I now have proof." Marth nodded and gave Peach a motion to continue. "Now that we know the Warlocks are after the Wire Frames as well, for whatever reason, I'd like to find out just how serious they are in foiling our attempts to destroy the Wire Frames. So, I wanted to make this event coming up have a prize that Bowser himself might be.. very interested in gaining."

Marth scratched his head. "Uh... a wire frame? You made a Wire Frame?"

"No, I-"

"She put Zelda up as a prize." Ness blurted out. "The winners gets to spent one full day with the famous 'Waiting Lady', under which they would be aloud to ask her any questions and she would be forced to answer. During this time, she will be granted the power of a moderator. And at the end of the winners time together, she must grant each of the winners one in-game wish that she can preform, regardless of what it is." He looked up at Peach. "Isn't that right?"

She nodded slowly. "In a nutshell, yes. I wanted to make this event very tempting to Bowser, so that he will want to try and partake in it. When he does, we will not only gain vital info on him, but could learn-"

"But what if Bowser wins the event?!" Marth shouted out. "I mean, like, Zelda is being forced to answer any questions. So she'd have to tell him secret information, right? Or even worse... Bowser, couldn't he like... ask Zelda to delete herself? Or maybe even delete her? Isn't he part of the event? He could have that power over her, right?" Right?!"

"I don't believe Bowser could delete Zelda even if he tried. And you should know Zelda would lie about that information." Peach tried to explain. "Calm down. We will be winning this event, anyway, so don't worry about it. As a fail safe, I myself will be partaking in it!"

"PEACH!"

The four players looked behind them to see Captain Falcon storming up to them. He walked right into the PF and gripped the woman by her collar. "PEACH! You have gone WAY too far with this now. First mixing up a regular player as the PRIZE for an event, then going so far as to make sure that NO ONE could win besides yourself. What the hell are you trying to do, destroy the game?!"

Peach slapped the admin's hand away. "No, I'm trying to save it. I never said I was going to win, Falcon. I said I was just to be in the contest myself. Secondly, I involved Zelda for two reasons. One because she is a popular player in this game, and second because Bowser and his hackers might want to come after her for information. So I figured I could kill two birds with one stone if I put her up as part of the prize."

"This is reckless, a danger, an I highly doubt that the boss-"

"Would give his okay? Too late, I already ran it past him, and he seemed quiet happy with the idea." Peach responded. "Why don't you go ask him right now, instead of wasting time in here, hmm? Remember, per the agreement we signed, I get full use of Hyrule Castle during the time span of my event."

"But-"

"Shoo." Peach brushed Captain Falcon away. "Go on. Don't you need to get set up for your take over, I mean, promotion to Kongo Jungle?"

Captain Falcon glared at his fellow worker. "You'll regret this Peach, I know you will. I just hope that this event of yours doesn't blow up in your face." He turned and left the PF, walking out the castle and warping away.

"That was... Captain Falcon, right? The system administor of Hyrule?" Peach nodded at Marth's question. "I figured. I heard stories about how much of a loser he is."

"Heh. I'm sorry about that you guys. Anyway, Marth, Ness, Link... Please do not worry about Zelda. Trust me, I have taken... many precautions to ensure that Zelda will not be harmed in the event of Bowser or his team winning the event. If they'll even fall for the bait, to begin with! So don't worry. But if you guys are truly worried about her safety, then perhaps you should..."

Marth smiled. "Enter the event?" Peach nodded and the swordsman grinned even more. "YEAH! That sounds cool, doesn't it guys?"

"...Whatever." Ness muttered. Link nodded his head a bit, then looked over to Peach with a glare.

"...I figure you still wouldn't approve of my methods, Link. But sending angry whispers is not the answer." Peach smiled at the three boys. "Just relax. This event is meant to have fun. I have a feeling that, although Zelda is a tempting prize, Bowser and his Warlocks won't come after her."

The trio looked at each other, for a moment, then back at Peach. "Okay." Ness answered. "Link and I will enter the event and win Zelda before you or any of Bowser's Warlocks can get the chance."

"What about me?!" Marth shouted.

Ness was about to answer when Peach jumped in, "You need three party members to enter the contest." She explained with a grin. "So you really have no choice, Ness."

The boy sighed. "Oh well. I figured Link would want to weight down the team with him, anyway, instead of investing in someone better like Pit or Luigi."

"Luigi will be with me." Peach replied with a smile. "As well... as our good friend, Mario."

"Oh... isn't he that guy you were gushing about before Ness?"

Peach giggled while Ness glared at Marth. "Anyway, I hope to see the three of you at the event. If you don't mind, though, I need to make an announcement to the rest of the players. I'll be seeing you three later." She waved and held up her hand, removing the PF. Once it was gone, Peach teleported herself out the side corridor. As she did, the band around Link's mouth fell off and the trio walked over to behind the huge mob of the other players. Peering through the mob would reveal a sight rarely seen, but one that had happened twice today: Zelda was missing.

"I still can't believe she would do something that stupid..." Link muttered.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, Link." Marth said as they came to a stop. "I'm sure that Peach has everything under control."

Link sighed and looked at the floor of the castle. "...I suppose. But still, I just think it's... reckless! I mean, what if one of us doesn't win? What'll happen then?"

"Attention everyone!" Before Marth could answer, the groups attention was brought up to the floating pink administor, floating down from the sky to land in the spot where Zelda would have normally been located. As she landed, the entire chamber erupted in cheers and chanting as the lady gracefully waved to her fans. "As you can see, our very own 'Waiting Lady' has been taken captured by the mysterious monsters! We only have a matter of time before they take her and sacrifice her to their forbidden gods!"

"Is she talking about the event or something?" Marth asked. "Is Master Hand that god?"

Ness shook his head. "No, newbie. You see, the monsters that were from the last event have three gods they praise named Din, Nayru, and Farore. The main idea of the first event was to save a princess from these beasts. I suppose it's the same idea, just this time the princess is Zelda."

"We must hurry and fight these beasts! We will have to travel deep into the world of these monsters and save5 the princess!" The castle roared in excitement and the players began to chant Peach's name again. "You will find that this quest is very much like the first, yet at the same time, very different. The event will follow three major points in your adventures to try and save the Waiting Lady, just as the first did! However, if you can not complete one of these tasks, you will not be able to move onto the next one! So, although this quest will have the same basic idea, do not think that the normal tricks and gimmicks will work on this quest!"

"Sounds like it might be fun." Marth said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to something for a change."

Peach looked across the crowd and her eyes met with Marth. She smiled again and continued to talk, "Follow me outside to watch the opening cut scene to the event! Unless, of course... you're a friend of the missing Waiting Lady! Then I'd advise you to stay inside and search for clues! For the rest of you, follow me!" Peach floated into the air again and gracefully glided across the mass of players, right out the door and into the huge field outside.

No sooner did she leave did the mass exodus of players began. Each pushing and shoving to try and get out of the castle. Marth was about to follow when Ness yanked him out of the way of the mob. "Huh? I wanna watch the cut scene!"

"She told us to wait." Ness explained. "Couldn't you get the hint? Or are you that dense?"

Marth glared at the boy, but waited with his guild mates until the last of the players left the castle. As they did, the doors slammed shut and the three were left alone again. "Now wh-"

"Attention." Marth, Link and Ness turned around to see Sheik walking out from an upper corner near the stain glass window Zelda would gaze at. "SSBM Report."

"Sheik?" Marth whispered as the group walk towards the assassin.

Link nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure what she wants though."

The trio finally made their way up to their fellow member, who was looking at them with her arms close. "I'm sure you all know me, but perhaps if you don't, my name is Sheik. In Zelda's absences, as the first recruited member, I am automatically given the responsibility to maintain the guild and it's actions."

"I love me a girl in power!"

They all turned to see Pit flying over to them, landing right next to Ness. "You're late." Sheik quickly greeted.

"Umh, I was kinda BANNED for like a good hour or so?"

"...Excuses." Pit rolled his eyes and Sheik continued speaking. "Even though Zelda will not be in command during these next two days, that does NOT mean our guild will be taking a break from our missions. Recent information just passed down to me by Peach revealed that, during the needed code editing to make preparations for this event, some areas were infected and corrupted. This corruption is normal during preparations for an event, sometimes leading to player's games crashing and extreme lag issues. Most are addressed and fixed within a day."

"What's that gotta do with us?" Link asked. "Don't most of those problems get a patch that is automatically installed next time the user opens the game?"

"Yes. But it is not the normal corruption we're interested in." Sheik explained. "During this recent event, two specific areas received extreme corruption."

"And when you say extreme you mean..." Pit began, a smirk crossing his face. "Wire Frame extreme?"

Sheik nodded. "Although Peach said that there is very little chance that a Wire Frame would be located in one of these two areas, she still would like someone to check it out, just to make sure that this corruption isn't far from the norm."

"And by someone, you mean us?" Ness asked.

Sheik nodded once more. "However, due to the fact that there are two areas with possible corruption, I will not be assigning this mission in large groups. It will be two of you together."

"Really?! HA, COOL!" Exclaimed Marth, pumping his fist in the air.

Their temporary leader raised an eyebrow and looked over the excited swordsman. "Marth, was it? You're our newest member, correct?"

"Oh, um. Yes." He answered, calming himself down.

"I see. Then I shall be sending you to the low level area, Death Mountain Caves, with Pit." Marth frowned. "Does that displease you? You're still new to this. I don't want to risk sending you out to a stronger level field. Although Pit will be of no real help, he might be able to show you the ropes of Wire Frame hunting. Even though he's never really followed the rules, nor done it correct once..."

"Love you too, Sheik." Pit replied, polishing his bow in boredom.

This time it was Sheik who rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Ness, I want you and Link. to take Death Mountain Summit."

"The areas are both Death Mountain?" Link asked surprised.

"It appears so. It's most likely due to the fact that Peach was planning to use Death Mountain as an area of her event. However, problems arose and her plans were scrapped."

The Hylian nodded. "Okay, gotcha. I'm ready to depart right now, so I'll head back to town. Unless there is something else you want to say?"

"If you find the Wire Frame, Link, try and destroy it. Same restrictions apply as always. However, if one of Bowser's Warlocks appears, try your best to take them out. We can't risk them interfering with the 'Event' anymore then they already have. Who knows what danger they could pose. Marth and Pit, you will be faced with choosing three paths. According to Peach, its path one that is the most corrupted. Go that way, understand?" Sheik answered. The two nodded and she continued, "And finally, Peach's event will take place tomorrow at 3PM. I'd advise you to get your party together before that. If you're not infront of this castle by 3, you will not be able to join the event."

"Okay then. If thats it, I'm going back to Hyrule. Ness, wanna come stack up on some items?"

"Sure."

"Once finishing your search, please send me a whisper." Sheik announced. "I will remain here in the castle awaiting your reports. Till then, SSBM Dismissed!"

Sheik turned and walked back into the corner from where she came, disappearing into the shadows. Once she was gone, Link and Ness joined a party and turned to face Marth. "We're heading off to Hyrule now to stack up on some items. I'd offer you to come, but DM Caves is a pretty weak area. I don't think you'd need any items to finish it. Not with Pit at your side, anyway."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Not like I haven't been trying to buy any today, anyways." Marth replied rolling his eyes.

"Okay good!" Link smiled. "Good Luck Marth! Contact me the second you guys finish! Take good care of him, okay Pit?"

"...Eh."

"See you two later!" Link waved and he and his little grinchy friend left the castle.

Marth looked over at his angel companion. "So, uh... It's nice to finally be in a team with you, Pit. Should we get going?"

"Alright." Pit replied, putting away his now shiny bow. "I'll meet you in Hyrule in a few minutes. By the item shop. I need to log off for a moment. Mom wants to use the PC."

Marth nodded and Pit dashed outside of the castle, vanishing down a warp pipe to log off.

--

Alone once more, I sighed and slide down in the chair, putting the remote on the desk. Man, today has been so busy, but so much fun! Finally, I'm learning more about this silly 'Event' thing... and my first real mission! HAHA! But still... just to have a few moments alone to relax would be-

**DAISY: Heeeeey Marthy!**

I slammed my head down on the desk and without looking up, typed my reply.

**MARTH: Gu...  
****DAISY: ...Eh?  
****MARTH: Erm, hi.  
****DAISY: lol Whats up?  
****MARTH: Not much.  
****DAISY: COOL  
****DAISY: Sry caps.  
****DAISY: Anywaaaay, my dearest Marthy, you're not thinking about partaking in Peach's event tomorrow right?  
****MARTH: Yeah... why?  
****DAISY: AW MAN!**

I raised an eyebrow and began to type some more.

**MARTH: Why?  
****DAISY: All the newbies will be busy trying to beat the quest she's obviously rigged for Mario to win.  
****DAISY: So I figured you and me could go do some treasure hunting ;D  
****MARTH: Uh...  
****MARTH: I think I'd pass either way.  
****DAISY: You're no fun Marth.**

A moment past and Daisy didn't type anything back. Assuming she had gone on to bugging someone else, I picked up my controller and began to move Marth out of the castle.

**DAISY: So, y'know... I heard a rumor.**

Ugh.

**MARTH: What did you hear this time?  
****DAISY: Wire Frames, thats what they're called right?  
****DAISY: They've been showing up all over the place now.  
****MARTH: Thats not a rumor. Most people have been making posts about the Wire Frames more and more.  
****DAISY: I know.  
****DAISY: But you see, I just thought it was 'odd' that the Wire Frames were appearing more during Peach's event.  
****DAISY: I wasn't the only person who drew this conclusion. Did you know it has been PEACH who is deleting all the posts, not that loser Falcunt?  
****MARTH: I didn't.  
****DAISY: Now you know.  
****DAISY: Coincidence? I think not.**

I couldn't help but shake my head and giggle slightly. I sorta thought she was smarter then that. "Oh well, maybe it's better that way." I figure it would be better having Daisy think that Peach was the cause of the Wire Frames, rather then some odd... 'god'... thing. So I couldn't help but add some more fuel to the fire.

**MARTH: Yeah. Now that I think about it, she has been acting strangly.  
****DAISY: You've noticed huh?  
****DAISY: I knew that bitch would do something like this. I JUST KNEW IT!  
****DAISY: I bet those 'delete' characters aren't really deleted, just removed from the game for a small period of time.  
****MARTH: ...Maybe...  
****DAISY: So yeah Marth...  
****DAISY: Be careful when you're around her.  
****MARTH: lol k.  
****MARTH: I gtg. My friend is waiting for me in town. I'll see you later.  
****DAISY: K. **

I let a minute pass this time before I assumed the healer was done. Once the time passed, I moved Marth out of the castle and warped him back to town. Time to get to work.

--

-Hyrule-

Marth warped into and wandered about the busy square for a moment of so before he turned and walked to the item shop. "I wonder if I could finally buy that item." He wandered into the shop and up to the happy looking man in green spandex. "Alright then I'll-"

"Hello there."

Marth sighed and turned around. "What is it- Ah!" He jumped backwards and gasped upon seeing who had just greeted him. "It's you..."

Mewtwo smirked and nodded. "Yes. My name is Mewtwo." The cat like pokemon extended his hand towards Marth. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Marth."

Marth didn't read up to grab the other players hand. Instead he looked around the room, trying to find the quickest way out. Mewtwo couldn't help but laugh at the swordsman squirming and withdrew his hand. "Sorry. I've been told... not to trust hackers." Marth answered once he figured the only way out was through Mewtwo.

"A wise belief indeed." Mewtwo said, nodding his head in agreement. "But not all hackers are bad, Marth."

"Uh-huh. So, uh... is there something you need? I'm in a rush."

Mewtwo smiled, although it seemed more evil then cheerful. "Nothing. I need nothing. I thought I'd stop by and say hello to Marth, the Saviour of the Game." Marth's face went from worried to completely and totally confused. The psychic laughed and turned to leave. "Perhaps we'll chat later. I heard a rumor about a Wire Frame in Death Mountain. Around the third cave, you know. Maybe if I'm lucky, our paths will cross. Till then."

Mewtwo floated gracefully out of the item shop, leaving an extremely confused swordsman. "Oookay... What the heck just happened?" Marth asked no one.

"Marth! Hey there." Pit greeted as he ran into the item shop, his wings missing. "C'mon, let's get going."

"Oh. Alright..." A good twenty seconds past before Marth invited the archer into his party. "Uh... lead the way?"

Pit raised an eyebrow and the two left the item shop. "You okay Marth?" He asked as they marched towards the portal. "You look confused. Is it because of my wings? I can hide them you know."

"No... it's just, well..."

-Death Mountain Base-

Pit, now complete with wings and Marth warped into a grass field. It wasn't as lush as a few of the other plains, and didn't last as long. Only a few feet away did the green grass stop growing, and in it's place a long rolling plain of brown dirt and dust. In the distance, a large, steep mountain loomed over them, it's peak slightly covering the sun. "Saviour of the Game, huh?" Pit asked as he took out his bow. "Is that some sorta in-game title? Never heard of it before..."

"I think it was just weird" Marth muttered to his party member. The two left the grassy field and began to stroll across the dirt and dust towards the mountain.

"I wouldn't bother paying Mewtwo any mind. He's from SSBB after all. He might do things like that to throw you off or confuse you so that he can get his guild ahead."

Marth nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I thought that. But what do you think he meant by saying he'd be by the third cave looking for a Wire Frame?"

"There are three area's a player can go too in this level." Explained Pit. "Each of those areas is a cave. So I guess he means the third cave..."

The two wandered a bit more, trying to reach the mountain. But with each step they took, the mountain seem to get more and more distant. Finally, after a bit of walking, the two came to a post in the middle of the empty plain. Upon the top of the post, three owls sat, hooting quietly. Marth looked up at the sign and double clicked it with his mouse. "Choose your path?" He read aloud. "Select your... owl?"

"Choose the first one." Pit said, pointing up to one of the owls. "The one on the left. That's Owl One. He'll bring us to the area that Sheik wanted us to explore."

"Okay." The swordsman did as the angel told him, and as he clicked the owl, a vortex of white energy began to swirl around the two players. It grew larger and larger until it covered both of their bodies. As it did, the screen flashed white and the two players found themselves in a new area filled with other players, sitting around, looking very bored. The area was a dirt plain, with a bunch of rocks making a ring around the area. Infront of the two was the owl, sitting on a perch. To the perch's left was a path way leading into a dark cave. "Where are we now?"

"Right outside Path One." Explained Pit. "Sorta like a... victory town. Outpost? Ever hear of those?" Marth nodded. "Yeah. Players meet here and get into parties before going into the path."

"HEY LOOK IT'S PIT!"

Pit winced and turned around to see a mass of players suddenly run up to him, completely trampling over Marth in the process. "Uh... yeah, it's... me." Pit said weakly, waving with a nervous grin.

"WOW!"

"This is amazing."

"The famous Pit?! HERE?! Can I have your autograph?! If you have any left, I mean."

"Newbie, you only get autographs if you win in the tournament."

"Your wings are so beautiful."

"HERES MY GID!"

Pit sighed and bent down. "Marth, you there?"

"Yesh." Came the muffled reply of the swordsman. "Shey only fid ike eridy damage to meh. Issh cool."

"Wow. The game will even muffle speech if your face down now?"

"Yesh."

"Awesome."

"Mrrrrrr..."

At that angry sound, Pit stood back up and looked into the mass of adoring players. "Would you mind getting off my friend?" The players stared at the angel confused. He pointed downwards, at which their gazes followed, and quickly moved away upon realizing they had been standing ontop of Marth. The swordsman stood up and brushed off his armor. Pit smiled. "Okay now Marth?"

"Yeah."

No sooner did he utter those words then did Marth get swarmed by the players, all trying to get close to him and all shouting right into his ear.

"Sorry!"

"I didn't see you."

"Hey, here is my GID. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry!"

"Any friend of Pit is a friend of mine."

"How long have you two known each other? Wanna be friends?"

Marth was overwhelmed by the sudden surge of players. "Oh, uh... thanks?"

Pit reached forward and yanked the swordsman away from the mass of players and back to his side. "Alright guys, what is going on here?" Pit asked, crossing his arms. "This place tends to have a few parties here from time to time, but there is atleast forty of you players here! Is there an event going on or something?" All of the players began to shout random things, each shouting over one another to the point where neither Pit nor Marth could make out what they were saying. "GEEZ! ONE AT A TIME!" Pit shouted, silencing the crowd. "You there, in the blue dress with green hair. Lyn. What's going on?"

The swordswoman he had addressed, named Lyn, took a step forward and explained. "Well... you see, we all tried talking to the owl so that it would bring us to the cave, but... each time we talk to him, nothing happens."

"It doesn't teleport you then?" Pit asked. Lyn shook her head and the mass of other players once again began to call out their thoughts. "CALM DOWN!" They silenced once more. He looked over to the girl again. "Does he say anything?"

"No." She said. "It just makes a hooting sound, and no text appears."

Pit placed a hand on his chin and thought. "Hmm."

**PIT: Marth, give me leadership.  
****MARTH: Alright.**

Marth, at Pit's whisper request, passed the leadership of the team over to him. Once that was done, Pit walked through the crowd and up to the post where the Owl was sitting. He seemed to click on the bird and then there was a pause. "...Just as I thought." He finally spoke up. "The area is closed off. Repairs. Most likely due to Peach's event."

The players began to mutter among themselves, once again drowning out what each other was saying. "So... what does that mean?" Lyn finally spoke once the mass quieted down.

"Just what I said. The area is closed. You guys can't enter it." Pit explained. "Might as well log off or go find another place to level up... cause this area is shut down."

"You sure?"

"Of course... I've been playing this game long enough to know a locked area when I see one." The players began to moan and talk with their party members. Marth stood at the edge of the group, a lost look upon his face.

"Is it really locked?" Marth asked, making sure he was talking in party chat.

Pit nodded. "Yes, it is. However, Peach has given me special access to enter locked areas like this. That must have been why Sheik paired me up with you and not Link... only me and Ness have that power, since we've been playing the game the longest. And I'm sure you and Ness would have just had a grand old time together."

"Heh. You bet." Replied Marth with a grin. "So... if Peach can lock areas, why doesn't she just lock down all the areas where Wire Frames appear? It could make our job easier... and will stop risking normal players."

"I don't know. But its most likely because Peach isn't sure where a Wire Frame will appear." Pit suggested. "You see, my guess is the only reason she was able to lock this one down was because it was showing signs of irregularity prior to this date. Most fields where Wire Frames appear only show that irregularity the day the Wire Frame is spotted."

Marth looked surprised that Pit had known so much. "Re-Really?"

Pit nodded once more. "Yeah... I've been hanging around Zelda too much, I know. Heh."

"So what do we do now?"

Pit sighed, walked over to Marth and sat down on the ground. "We wait."

"Hm?"

"We wait until they all leave... so we can go into the cave." Just as he spoke that, a new party warped into the area, and quickly began to converse with another party. The players were showing no signs of leaving. He closed his eyes and sighed. "But that might take a while..."

--

-Bowser's Castle-

Bowser sat on his throne, tapping his large claws constantly against the armrest of his chair. To his side, Blade stood quietly. An angry snarl was upon the king of hackers face, warning most wise players to stay away. Unfortunately, one such player was not so wise and decided to warp into his chamber. To make it worse, it was the very player Bowser had been waiting for. "SERPENT!" Bellowed the hacker as his cloaked Warlock appeared infront of his throne. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!"

Serpent quickly got down on one knee and lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Lord Bowser. My job in the real world-"

"SILENCE!" Serpent winced, but stopped his explanation and remained quiet. "I have had it up to HERE with you, Serpent. Recently you have been slacking on your duties as a Warlock. My patience is running thin, and I'm sure you can tell!"

"If I may speak-"

Bowser slammed his fist down on the armrest. "I am aware that your job is time consuming. But when you became a Warlock, you no doubtably knew that this would take a good deal of your time as well. I asked if you were up to it, and you agreed."

Serpent sighed. "I am sorry."

The snarl on Bowser's snout began to slowly fade as the turtle calmed down. "You are lucky I am a forgiving man, and that you have proven, at times, to be a worthy ally. Your recent actions will be forgiven if you can complete the task I am about to give you."

"My lord." Serpent looked up. Although his face was covered, Bowser could tell by the tone of voice that hope had returned to the man. "Thank You."

"Do not thank me yet, Serpent." Bowser muttered, standing up and walking towards the kneeling man. Off in the corner, Blade stood silently, watching every moment of the drama. "Have you been following Peach's event recently?"

Serpent nodded. "Yes... well, I am aware that today there was a notice of what the prize was going to be. Besides that, I'm not too sure."

"Do you know what that prize is yet, Serpent?"

"No."

Bowser smiled an evil grin, showing off every last one of his long pointed teeth. "Zelda." Serpent and Blade both let out low gasps at the mention of the prize. "She is the prize."

"If I may speak, Lord Bowser, I wasn't aware that Zelda was the prize!" Blade quickly blurted out. "That is extremely surprising!"

Serpent cupped his chin in thought. "Really? Zelda, guild leader of SSBM... the prize... How... odd."

"Yes." Agreed the Beast with a nod. "According to the log, Zelda will be bound to the winning parties will for one day, forced to answer any questions and in the end, grant that party one wish." Bowser turned and looked down at the kneeling Serpent. "I don't think I need to tell you what to do."

Serpent stood up and saluted the turtle. "Yes, my Lord. I shall assemble my team and make the preparations to enter that event immediately."

"Good. Bring Zelda back as your prize, and all will be forgiven. You are dismissed, Serpent."

The Number Six Warlock bowed and warped out of the chamber, leaving Blade and Bowser alone. A moment passed before Blade finally spoke up, "You do know this is a set up, right?"

"Of course I know." Bowser replied, walking back to his seat. "I know this entire thing reeks of a trap. Since when do players go as prizes, pssh! Regardless of how famous she is, no one in their right mind would make a person a prize."

"We are dealing with Peach you know." Blade reminded.

Bowser let out a quiet laugh. "Yes, you're right. I suppose in Peach's case this isn't surprising. She obviously is trying to lure us out, to learn more about the Warlocks and our operation."

"So why are we taking the bait?"

The koopa like beast laughed and folded his claws together. "If you think something is poisoned, you make sure you have someone else taste it out first. If it is, they die. If it's not, you get a tasty meal."

"So Serpent is that taste tester?" Bowser nodded at Blade's assumption. "Seems crueler of you then normal."

Bowser smirked. "Well... we are getting another Warlock soon, anyway, yes?" He turned and looked Blade directly in his cloaked face. "Warlock number seven, the Powerful Fist?" At that very moment, the doors of Bowser's chamber opened. The two glanced over to see the approaching figure of Ganondorf. The gerudo came to a stop infront of Bowser's throne and stood there, staring at the hacker. "Speak of the devil..."

Blade quietly walked over to Ganondorf and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you finally came up here." Blade whispered into his ear. However, Ganondorf shook his shoulder free of Blade's hand and took another step forward.

"I heard you can make things more entertaining." Ganondorf said to the hacker.

"I can." Replied Bowser, his grin lingering on his face.

"I'm interested... but not only in that. I heard you can also give me... information."

"Like what?"

Ganondorf paused for a moment, then looked down at his right hand in thought. "Who my character is... why I can use this move. Am I some abnormality? My character... "

Bowser smirked again. "Yes. Those questions and more will be answered for you. All you need to do is swear something to me... I'm sure you know what that is."

The Gerudo stood in the center of the chamber, his stern and powerful face not once wavering in the sight of the malicious grinning beast. "I will... but on one condition."

Bowsers' grin slowly began to fade. "...And that is?"

--

"Hey, you there Pit?" Marth asked the bored looking angel.

Pit glanced up to see Lyn and her party approaching the waiting duo. He turned to Marth and nodded. "Yeah, just got back. I went AFK, sorry."

"Cool... the last group... I think they're coming over here..."

As Marth spoke, the female swordsman and her party walked up to the two. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Pit." She spoke with a smile.

"Leaving?" Pit asked, standing up.

"Yes. Apparently, some players saw Samus on her way over to this field." Lyn explained with a nervous grin. "I'd rather not be around if she's here!"

Pit smirked. "Been a bad girl I see?"

"I PKed someone once and suddenly I'm up on the wanted list." She sighed, running a hand through her green hair. "It's so troublesome."

"Take care." Lyn nodded and her party warped out of the area. "...Like Samus would even bother going after someone who only PKed once... heh. Oh well, Marth..." He turned and looked at his party member. "Ready to head on in?"

Marth nodded and stood up. "Let's go."

The two apporched the owl. Pit took the lead and walked up to the animal, clicking it and then they waited. A few moments or so past until finally Pit and Marth disappeared in another white vortex, teleporting them deep into a dark cave. Marth glanced about the cave to see if there was any detail. Infront of the duo was a pathway, leading into more darkness of the cave. On the walls were a few torches, but their light was barely enough to keep the room lit. The rocks were mossy and the sound of water dripping soon became an annoyance to the swordsman. Pit took out his bow and broke it into two daggers and Marth removed his sword. "We shouldn't have to worry about the monsters here." Pit spoke as they began to walk into the darkness. "Most are level fourteen or so... you could even take them alone... with a little trouble, I mean."

"What kind of monsters are here?"

"Goron, I believe." Explained the angel.

Marth shrugged. "Never fought them. Only find ReDeads and Zora's now."

They pushed deeper and deeper into the darkness, constantly surveying the area for monsters.

"AH!" Pit suddenly jumped and turned to his left, his daggers brandished. Marth two jumped into a fighting position and awaited the monster spawn. "...Uh, sorry about that. My cat jumped on the computer and it startled me."

--

...Wow?

After Pit's little incident, the two of us continued on uninterrupted... which was odd. In and out of the confusing rock formation, without a single encounter. I'm used to those random monster spawns every five minutes! Although this was extremely boring... it was a welcomed change. For now, anyway.

"What the..." I heard Pit say. I looked over at him and I noticed his face was filled with confusion. "How in the world..."

"What is it?" I ask, turning Marth to face him.

Pit pointed forward and I followed his finger into the darkness. Infront of us was another empty space, with a stone stairway leading down. "Thats the end of the level... we'd be heading down to the second floor."

"Thats good, right?"

"Not really." Huh? "Well... I mean, why... we just finished an entire floor of a dungeon without a single monster spawn. Don't you find that weird?" Yeah I guess it is kinda strange...

I quickly spoke up, "But didn't Peach lock this area? Maybe she removed the monsters when she did that."

Pit shook his head. "No... removing monsters is a much more time consuming process. I don't think that, with her event coming up, she would have the time to do that programming."

Hmm... Well I honestly haven't got a clue what that could mean. Hehe... "So uh... what should we do?"

I saw in Pit's avatar that he was thinking. After a moment of silence he spoke up, "Let's keep going down, till we reach the final floor of the dungeon. There are only three floors in here, anyway."

I imputed /nod and followed Pit as he entered the darkness.

--

"Hi-YA!"

Link pushed a large orange beast backwards with his sword, raising his shield just in time to block the monsters fist from crashing into his face. The beast, called a Goron, withdrew it's hand and growled upon missing. "These Goron are pretty annoying!" Link cried, slashing the beast with his sword twice. The Goron fell to the ground and exploded into orbs, but Link didn't have time to celebrate as two more Goron's came up from behind and punched him in his back at the same time, sending the Hylian tumbling across the dirt plain that was Death Mountain Summit. Link's HP fell into critical after the rolling stopped.

"Life Up Beta!" Ness cried, pointing his bat like staff at the wounded Hylian. Link's HP recovered slightly and he began to stand back up. "Yeah I know what you mean." The boy jumped in between the approaching Gorons and Link and held out his hand. "PK FREEZE BETA!"

The Two Goron's were encased in blocks of ice, snowflakes swirling about as they took about 130 damage each. A moment later the ice blocks exploded and the two Gorons stumbled to the floor. Link ran past Ness and jumped into the air, raising his blade over his head and slicing down onto the first monster. It went straight through the beast, finishing off it's remaining HP. The third Goron stood up and reached up to try and grab the Hylian, but was quickly pushed away with a thrust of Link's shield. "Finish him for me will ya?"

"PK THUNDER ALPHA!" A round orb of thunder shot out of Ness's head and zoomed right over to the Goron. It blasted the monster upwards, knocking it up into the air, where Link sliced it in two with a quick flick of his blade. The battle music finished and the two gained experience. "That was fun." Ness spoke with a hint of sarcasm as he walked over the wounded Hylian. He cast two more Life Up Betas, restoring Link's life to normal.

"No it wasn't!" Link cried, putting his sword away. "I thought it was tough... and I'm almost level forty five! You're lucky they didn't notice you, or else they would have been all over you like a-"

Ness rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. No need for a metaphor."

"Well, uh, it wasn't a metaphor-"

"Same difference." The boy turned and began to walk across the summit. He soon came to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the far away earth. "This is the end of the summit."

Link joined the boy at the edge. "Is it? Then we've checked all the sides. Nothing is here."

Ness sighed and turned around. He crossed his arms and began to walk away. "Then get in contact with Sheik and lets-" Ness was stopped mid-sentance by a pair of floating orbs raising from the ground. "...Ugh."

"Of all the idiocity I've encountered in areas of this game, this level takes the cake!" Link said as he took out his sword and moved into fighting position, stepping infront of Ness. "This has gotta be our thirtieth fight!"

The two Gorons spawned and charged directly for the green clad swordsman. After a few punches and kicks, Link fell wounded and beaten at the feet of Ness. He looked up at the boy, his face bruised and beaten, and was shocked to see Ness was lost in thought. "Idiocity... is that a word?"

"HEAL ME!"

"Yeah... I'm kinda out of MP."

Link sighed and closed his eyes as the two boys prepared for the worst from the oncoming Gorons.

--

"...Nothing is here."

Marth and Pit made it down the dungeon to the final room. The room was round, it had triangle markings on the walls, and infront of them was an unopened treasure chest between two torches. What was missing from the area was something all areas had - a boss. "Nothing at all..." Pit muttered. "No boss... no Wire Frame... nothing."

"What do we do now?" Marth asked, turning to the archer.

Pit shook his head. "I don't know... I guess we tell Sheik that nothing was here. It's the only thing we can do."

Pit turned to leave the chamber when Marth called out, "Why don't we search the other two areas? That guy... Mewtwo, he said there was a rumor of a Wire Frame in the third cave."

"Peach told Sheik it was only cave one that the problem was in..." Pit explained. "If she wanted us to check the other caves, I'm sure she would have said just explore the entire area." Marth looked down at the ground in thought. After a moment of silence he was about to speak up when Pit cut him off, "You can search it alone if you want... I can't. There is a storm coming today and I don't want to be online when it comes. My last computer crashed that way."

"Oh... alright."

"Sorry."

Marth smiled. "No, it's no problem! I'll report in to Sheik after I search there as well."

"You sure you can handle it?" Pit asked. "Monsters in cave three are suppose to be around level twenty five..."

"Urm... I... uh... I'm used to dying."

Pit smiled. "Hehe. Alright. Then I'm going to log off." Pit took out a green warp pipe, which sprung up from the ground a moment later. "By the way, an easy way to return to the surface is to open the treasure chest. See you later." It swallowed Pit, returning the archer to town and removing him from the party.

--

Once I was left alone in the empty room, I turned Marth and walked him over to the treasure chest. "Heh. Weird seeing one of these without a monster fight." I spoke, double clicking the chest. Marth moved forward and opened the box, causing my entire screen to turn white. When the white faded, I saw that Marth had been returned to infront of the post where the three owls were sitting before. In my log, it said:

**You have found !**

I guess the chest was empty. Makes sense. "Okay where too now." I spun Marth around and glanced up at the sign post. I rolled my arrow over the third owl and double clicked it, sending another white vortex to surround Marth. Only a moment later had my character been whisked away to another open dirt field, with stones surrounding it and one party talking with each other.

"This field wouldn't happen to be closed, would it?" I asked, gaining the attention of the players.

The first thing I noticed was the armor they were wearing. It was... very elegant. It looked like it cost alot of money... something only richer, more experienced players would get. Rolling my mouse over one of them reveal that Pit might have greatly underestimated the monsters of this area. "Wow... you're... strong..."

The blue hedgehog looking beast smiled and pointed to himself. "Of course. Been playin' since AOTH."

Er... AH! Wait, the first game. So... if players from the first game are here to level up...

Uh-oh...

"Anyway, what is it you want?"

The players words broke me out of my new feeling of impending doom. "Oh, I was wondering if this area is closed down like the first cave is."

He shook his head. "No, its open. But there aren't any monsters in it."

Interesting. I wonder, maybe Peach, or whoever took out the monsters, did they do it here too? Or maybe... maybe it is the work of a Wire Frame? "Well, thanks. I was just wondering that."

"No problemo. C'mon guys, I think she's waiting outside of here." His party began to warp out the area one by one until he was the only one left. He smiled and waved goodbye, warping out of the field and leaving me alone in the area.

Once again I was alone, my only company this time was the hooting Owl standing a few feet away from me. Sighing, I moved Marth over to the NPC and clicked on it. The resulting action teleported me away, surrounded in a white vortex. When the screen showed a picture again, the blue haired swordsman was standing in the middle of a dark and spooky cave. Torches hung on the wall, barely lighting the cave. I moved Marth forward a few steps and once I did the background music and sound effects began to play. I gulped and quickly tapped up on my arrow key, sending Marth into a mad dash. "I just wanna reach the end of this dungeon fast..." I mutter, going deeper and deeper into the unknown that was the darkness of the cave.

CONTINUE...?


	17. LOGIN 16

Disclaimer: SSBM, SSBB and all its goodness is mine to control. Thats why this is going to be the story mode for SSBB. Duh.

A/N: Okay, before I started writing, I've always wanted to make Mewtwo have an odd personality. So, after many tries, I figured I like this one the best (since it'll fit in pretty neat at the end). But I still feel like somethings are missing from him. But oh well, you'll grow to know him better in later chapters anyway. Also, to Chef Colette, I've been meaning to get back to you but you never had a signed review so I couldn't send a message. ANYWAY; Pikachu is kinda already taken (not by anyone important, its just I need Pikachu to be a certain way for the story). However, you CAN be Pichu, or Yoshi. I believe they're still empty. Just let me know whats up.

I love you all! Thank you for reading my story :D!!!

BTW: WHO ELSE IS PISSED ABOUT SMASH BROS 4TH DELAY?! And its not fair, I mean, North America gets to wait another month, Japan gets a week. And don't even get me started about Europe! Around June 08? So stupid.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #16: Luck**

--

-Death Mountain Cave 3-

Marth continued to dash deeper and deeper into the cave, his eyes darting back and forth, watching out for any signs of movement or life within the dank cave. About five minutes later of running, he came to a set of descending stairs. "Looks like that guy was right..." Marth muttered, gazing into the darkness. "Not a single monster. Could Peach have shut down this area too?"

He paused a moment, preparing himself to walk down into the darkness. Once he started down, however, he soon found himself on the second floor of the dungeon. It eerily looked like the first, and no sooner did he load up did Marth start a sprint through the damp rocks. "Gotta get to the end fast..." He muttered, turning a corner and continuing on his way.

--

-Bowser's Castle-

Ganondorf turned and left the chamber with a large smirk on his face. Behind the receding Gerudo, Bowser sat upon his throne, a scowl across his snout. "Odd... terms." Muttered Blade after Ganondorf left the two alone. The Warlock turned and looked over at Bowser. "I'm surprised you'd agree to that."

"I honestly don't care. If thats what it'll take to gain his trust, then we'll do it." Replied the hacker. "Not like we'd lose, anyway."

Blade nodded. "Yes, thats right. I just find it... odd is all."

Bowser sighed and shook his head. "It's not for about two weeks, anyway. So we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Till then... I have a mission for you, Blade."

"Oh? Really? Does it have me PKing anyone?"

"It... could."

Blade began to chuckle. "Alright then. Fill me in."

--

Darkness filled my monitor as I moved my avatar closer and closer to the end of the dungeon. "This is so boring..." I muttered, bring Marth to a stop. He glanced about the area, and I sighed.

"I kinda wish there were some monsters here... I wonder..."

Could Mewtwo have just said those things to confuse me or something? Or maybe this was a trap so that he could PK me? There doesn't seem to be any monsters here... Peach most likely just shut this place down as a fail safe. Yeah... "There's no reason for me to be here, then. I guess I-"

My sentence was cut off by a flash of purple. An orb appeared on screen. Marth apparently noticed it, turning around to face it. I noticed it too and watched the orb float about the screen effortlessly. "What the..."

No sooner did I speak did the orb turn and start to float away. I quickly retook my controller and commanded Marth to chase after the orb through the dark cave.

"Nevermind then..."

Chasing down the orb wasn't that hard. It was the only thing on my screen, besides black. I watched it dart back and forth, zipping around corners at its apparent top speed, as if it was trying to lose me. "Try all you want, I'm not going to lose you!" I cried, making a sharp left as it floated down a new pathway.

No sooner did my screen show my turn did I come to a complete stop.

--

"Hello Marth."

The room infront of the swordsman, unlike the other dark places of the cave, was covered in a pale purple light. The light came from strings of text, that were scrolling across almost all of the rocks. It gave the area the appearance of it being hacked, or if something very wrong had just happened to the graphics. With so many strings of text lighting the area, Marth quickly noticed the only difference in color; the tall cat like player resting against the right side of the cave. "Mewtwo..." Marth muttered.

"Do you like what I did to the place?" Mewtwo asked, pushing up off the rock he was resting upon. "I find purple very relaxing. Not too bright like red, yet not as depressing as blue."

"You did this?" Asked Marth, as he was about to take a step forward. However, he quickly recoiled his foot, and took a step back, afraid of what could happen to his character upon entering the chamber.

Mewtwo nodded. "Yes. I also removed all the monsters from this area and dropped them off on Death Mountain Summit. I thought it would be the easiest way to get you to meet with me." He floated closer to Marth, who in turn began to look more and more uneasy. "Stay awhile." Mewtwo spoke with a devious grin. He held out his ball shaped fist and flicked it up. Upon doing so, Marth's avatar was lifted into the air, did a few summersaults and fell forward into the room. "I must have been very lucky for you to show up."

A moment passed before the swordsman began to stand. "I don't believe in luck..." Marth said, trying to remain calm.

As he was brushing himself off he heard Mewtwo asked, "Fate, then?"

"Huh?"

"You said you don't believe in luck. Do you believe in fate?" Marth looked confused at Mewtwo's question. Quickly, the swordsman stopped the /brush emotion and took a few steps back away from the hacker. "I find fate absolutely boring. The idea that everything you do is meaningless, because regardless of what you do, it will happen anyway." He chuckled and shook his head. "Its funny how destiny and fate are so much more popular. I guess the idea of people having their lives planned out for them is a more comforting thought then the idea of them making it work by themselves."

Marth turned and began to walk to the doorway. "I really don't understand what you're babbling about. I came here to look for a Wire Frame, not philosophical mumble-jumble. I'm leaving."

"I suppose, if thats what you believe was meant to be." Marth turned and left the rambling cat, only to be stopped a moment later by his next sentence, "The idea that people don't need to think and that their life is programmed seems so enjoyable. I guess that means you were never meant to find out why I called you here."

The swordsman spun around and looked over at the pokemon, who's eyes were shut tightly closed and a smirk was upon his face. "Why did you call me that before? Why did you want me to come here? And what does fate or luck or whatever have to do with it!"

"Do you believe it was fate you came in control of that character?"

Marth paused and thought about it for a moment. "Uh... No, I-"

"Good." Mewtwo quickly cut him off. "Then we're on the same page." He floated up closer to the swordsman, who stumbled backwards trying to get some distance from the hacker. "Then this shouldn't be too hard for you to understand. There is nothing in this world that has been set into motion that can not be undone. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Don't fall into the spiral that is fate, that it was meant to happen and that there was no way around it. While things may not always turn out the way you've planned, that doesn't have to mean they need to turn out wrong. Though it may seem bad, good can always come from bad, so long as you take the time to look for it, instead of waiting for fate to bring it to you."

Marth blinked a couple times and tilted his head in confusion. "Um... okay? So... what does that mean?"

The pokemon smirked at the swordsman's confusion. "The world is always going to be in trouble. And then when people try, they always wind up saying... it was meant to be. There was no way around it. Destiny made it so. These are all excuses to avoid the truth. If you believe that, then when you hear of the worlds problems, you can leave them be. After all, fate will work it out in the long run. And those problems that don't seem to go away... they're just unchangeable. When I look at those problems in todays world, I don't see fate playing against us to make it unchangeable. I see a world that is unchanged. Do you understand?" Marth vigorously shook his head no, causing Mewtwo to chuckle. "Just remember that, and you should have no problem, saviour."

After that, Mewtwo turned and began to float away from the swordsman. "Wait!" Marth cried, turning around to catch the retreating pokemon. "I don't have a clue of what that meant! And more importantly-"

"There was no Wire Frame." Mewtwo replied calmly without looking back. "Peach's information was incorrect. If you want too, you may continue on forward. I have already check that area completely, though."

"But why did you call me Saviour of the Game?!"

The pokemon turned towards Marth and gave the swordsman a mysterious smile. "Just lucky, I guess."

Mewtwo then continued floating right out of the room. "Wait! Wait!" Marth shouted, but it was too late. Mewtwo had vanished into the darkness of the cave. As he did, the purple strings of text began to fade, and the room's light slowly turned to darkness. "What the heck just happened?!?!"

--

I think my head is throbbing. Geez, what a weirdo! If I wanted philosophy, I would have taken it last year. Ugh... I guess this is what Jigglypuff meant when she said it was hard getting answers out of him. My headache was quickly filled with compassion for the little puffball, as she must have to put up with that type of rambling everyday. Poor girl.

"Well... I guess..." I paused mid sentence, trying to think of what to do next. Mewtwo had said that there were no Wire Frames here... should I go back to the surface? Or should I go in deeper, just to make sure? So I picked up the nickel that rested by my computer's side and flipped it into the air.

"Heads I go back." The coin fell to the ground with a thud. I quickly reached for it and flipped it over. "Tails I go on. Well... here we go."

--

Marth spun around, took out his weapon and charged deeper into the cavern. "Luck... heh."

--

-Hyrule Castle-

Sheik raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me Ness is a bad healer?"

"ARGH! I'm sorry I couldn't keep you alive after like five hundred battles, LINK," Ness shouted, glaring at his Hylian friend. "But I DO sometimes run out of MP."

The assassin sighed. "I really don't care about stuff like that. Report to me what you guys found."

"Oh, yeah sorry." Link said with a giggle. "Well... we checked every inch of the place, and in the end, there wasn't a single Wire Frame to be found."

"The area didn't even look like there was anything wrong with it." Ness added. "Asides from the fact that there were a zillion monsters there."

Sheik nodded. "Thank you, then. We're just waiting for Pit and Marth to report in. Death Mountain caves shouldn't take much longer... I'm sure they'll be done very soon. Till then, SS-"

**PIT: Hey guys:D  
****PIT: Does my guild pass still work? I hope so. Say something if u read this!**

"Oh. Well, there we go."

**SHEIK: Report in, Pit.  
****PIT: Hey Sheik.  
****PIT: Report in? Marth hasn't yet?  
****SHEIK: No... why, was he suppose too?  
****PIT: I told him too. I had to log off b/c there is a storm coming my way.  
****PIT: I logged bac on to let you know that, though, so you didn't think I was ditching...**

Sheik, Link and Ness all glanced at one another after reading Pit's message.

**SHEIK: Well, he hasn't reported yet.  
****PIT: Oh...  
****NESS: Could it be that newbie doesn't know how?  
****SHEIK: I'm not sure.  
****SHEIK: MARTH! Can you read this?**

--

Oh... look at that. Sheik and Pit... and him. Are they whispering me? I wasn't sure, so I hit enter and typed:

**MARTH: Hey guys!**

But my message was quickly responded with:

**There is no one in the area to read your message. Please return to town to use that chat function.**

Uh... that might not be the best thing.

--

About a minute passed and no reply came from their swordsman friend. Link and Sheik looked at each other confused, while Ness sighed and rolled his eyes. "It figures. I guess no one taught him how to use guild chat yet, huh? Newbies... when will they learn to READ the manuel?"

"Not now Ness." Link muttered, bringing his hand to his chin in thought.

**SHEIK: Okay, so that didn't work.  
****LINK: Pit, what was the last thing you and him did?  
****PIT: We got to the end of the dungeon.  
****PIT: BTW there was no wireframe.  
****SHEIK: Oh.  
****PIT: OH! W8! He said he wanted to go to DMC #3.  
****LINK: Why would he want to go there?! Thats like a high level area!  
****PIT: ...Uh...  
****PIT: Apparently, Mewtwo told him a Wire Frame was going to be there.**

The three members of SSBM gasped upon reading the name.

**SHEIK: Mewtwo? From SSBB?  
****LINK: The hacker cat?  
****NESS: That rambling loser?!  
****PIT: idk, do u know any OTHER Mewtwos?! I mean, it's TWO for a reason, after all.**

"Sheik! We need to go get Marth!" Link cried. "Who knows what Mewtwo might do to him!"

"Yeah, he might bore the newbie to death!" Ness said with a giggle.

Link shot the boy a glare. "Not the time. Mewtwo is an expert hacker. We don't know if he can really be trusted, even if he's part of the event. He's had a pretty shady past. Not to mention we have no idea how much information he might get from Marth!"

"I'm sure there is no cause for alarm, Link." Sheik said calmly. Link's face didn't relax, however, causing her to sigh. "Alright. Go to Death Mountain Caves and look for him. I'm going to send word to the guild leader of SSBB to make sure that nothing fishy is going on. SSBM Dismissed!"

Link nodded and he quickly bolted out of the castle, followed closely behind by Ness.

--

Mewtwo appeared in front of the signpost with the three owls. "That boy shows promise." He muttered to himself, floating away from the sign. He hadn't gotten to far when he noticed a cloaked figure standing in between him and his path. "Hm? Oh ...Hello Blade." Mewtwo said calmly.

The cloaked figure stood in front of the pokemon with his arms crossed. "Hello, Deceiver." Blade replied in an agitated tone.

"Deceiver? Isn't that the name of one of your newer members?" Mewtwo asked, floating up to the cloaked player.

"No, it's the name we gave to you, you traitor."

"My name was the Logical Psychic, if I remember correctly." Mewtwo attempted to float by Blade, but the warlock stepped once again in between the pokemon and it's exit. "Is there something you need, Blade?"

Blade didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached to his side and pulled out a long, regal looking sword. "You captured a Wire Frame, didn't you?" He spoke.

"I did."

The warlock swung his sword at Mewtwo, who quickly disappeared in a flash and reappeared a few feet back. "Well, you're either going to tell us how you did it, or I'm going to kill you here and now, bring you're data back to Lord Bowser and extract it the hard way."

"Like you'd ever get into my computer."

Blade charged forward, swiping his blade across Mewtwo's chest again. The pokemon didn't teleport away this time, instead he lifted his hand and gripped the edge of the blade in his glowing purple fist. Blade responded to his weapon being stopped by thrusting his free fist at Mewtwo's face, knocking the pokemon back and freeing his saber. As Mewtwo tumbled, Blade charged and began to swing his sword about elegantly at the falling frame, dealing around 50 damage a hit. After a few hits from Blade's combo, Mewtwo fell to the ground and the warlock took a step back. "You were a bit stronger back when you were with us."

"If you say so." Mewtwo replied, standing up. "Sorry. I wasn't really paying attention, Guys Gossiping was on and I was trying frantically to find the remote." The pokemons body began to glow a dark purple aura and his eyes beamed a golden yellow color. "Shall we get the real fight started now?"

--

Link and Ness warped into the middle of the beginning of the Dearth Mountain Cave field. The Hylian and his young companion were about to race off in search of their friend when their guild chat quickly fired up:

**SHEIK: The guild leader of SSBB has agreed to meet with you and go in search of Mewtwo.  
****SHEIK: Try to be somewhat respectful... no need picking a fight right now.**

"The guild leader of SSBB?" Ness asked in shock as the two came to a stop. "Here? Really?"

"This may be a bigger deal then we thought."

They didn't need to wait long. Only about three minutes later the sound of a person warping into the area rang out and a flash of white light cued his entrance. "Took him long enough!" Cried Ness, to which Link quickly jabbed him in the side. A shush or two later, the two found themselves face to face with SSBB's guild leader.

Link stepped forward and smiled a visibly forced smile. "Uh, hello. It's a pleasure to see you-"

"Oh, quite fairy boy." He quickly huffed out. "I just logged on and get called for this? Bah! I think this whole thing is pointless. Mewtwo wouldn't hurt anyone. Not to mention he wouldn't even consider wasting his time on one of your guild members."

The Hylian looked half shocked while Ness grumbled and rolled his eyes. "Uh... yes. Let's just get going then." Link turned and began to run across the field of dust, followed closely behind by his two companions.

--

"...Nothing."

Marth stood in the final room of the dungeon, empty and alone. The only thing in front of the swordsman was a chest, which was most likely empty. With a sigh Marth returned his sword to it's normal position at his side and walked forward to the box. "I guess Mewtwo was right."

Reluctantly, Marth rested a hand on the top of the chest. He paused for a moment, rethinking the events that had just happened. "Mewtwo..." He whispered. "...What does it mean? Does he... could he know something about the Event that we don't? Or maybe..."

He stood quietly, staring down at the chest. "Oh well."

--

"Oof!"

Mewtwo's avatar let out a small yelp of pain as it fell to the ground after being slashed by Blade's sword. The Warlock stood only a few feet away from the pokemon, his sword slung across his shoulder and a chuckle leaving his lips. "Heh, Mewtwo. Why are you playing around like this?" He asked, walking towards the wounded player. He pointed his saber at the pokemon, "You know as well as I do you it's impossible to take me down! So now, just hold still, it's time to die."

"Nothing is impossible if you have the willingness to change it." Blade stopped his chuckling and gave a quick thrust forward with his sword and would have stabbed Mewtwo had the psychic not disappeared in a flash again. Mewtwo appeared a few feet away from Blade, who pulled back his sword and prepared for another attack. "I'm still here, Blade. I thought I was dead..."

"Damn you, you stupid cat!" Blade cried, charing forward at the Pokemon. "It IS impossible, you idiot! You can't finish me off without hacking!"

Mewtwo shook his head, closed his eyes and chuckled. "Poor fool. I don't need to hack to take you down, I'm sure of that."

"Yaaa!" Blade jumped into the air and was about to bring his sword down onto Mewtwo's skull when the Pokemon leaned towards the swordsman and opened his eyes. As he did, a beam of light shot forward from them, striking the Warlock dead on. But instead of causing any damage to Mewtwo's attacker, Blade just froze in his spot. A moment later, he dropped his sword to the ground and began to rock back and forth, his hand placed on his forehead.

"Disable..." Blade muttered as his avatar acted out the stunned effect. "What a cowardice move."

"Cowardice? I'm afraid not, Blade." Mewtwo began to float about the helpless player. "I just know how to use my skills to their best advantage." Blade growled which only caused the Pokemon to chuckle again. "And don't expect the disable to wear off anytime soon. At my level, disable can last for a good thirty seconds. Outside of the Battle Dome, anyway."

Blade's player let out a loud yell of frustration. "This move is so cheap. Psychic's need to be nerfed like there's no tomorrow."

Mewtwo raised an eyebrow. "Why is a hacker complaining about a move? A true hacker would be unphased by anything thrown at them."

"Shut it."

"So, Blade, while you're at my mercy, let's have a chat." Mewtwo turned his back on the Warlock and began to talk. "Rumor on the forums is that Ganondorf was seen today in Hyrule with a mysterious cloaked player. I hacked into the system and found that he did log into Hyrule around the same time... but I couldn't find any record of him leaving Hyrule."

Blade laughed. "Maybe he's still playing, huh? Or he went AFK."

"What part of cloaked player did you not understand?" Blade didn't answer. He instead was reaching down towards his sword, his stunned effect having run it's duration. But before he could reach his weapon, Mewtwo spun around, shot another disable, stunning him once again, and turned around once more. "Don't even worry about moving, I won't let you."

"Damn you."

"So? What does Bowser want with Ganondorf?" Mewtwo looked over his shoulder at the rocking player. "He does know that Ganondorf isn't a hacker, correct?"

"How should I know what Lord Bowser wants with him!" Blade shouted. "All I did was bring him to Bowser's castle, like he asked me to do. I honestly don't know why we even bothered, Ganondorf thinks that Lord Bowser should be bowing to him!"

Mewtwo now turned completely around. "Really? He must be very brave to stand up to the greatest hacker, behind myself, like that. Tell me, what did he do?"

"Why should I tell you?" Mewtwo got into the position as if he was about to use another disable attack. "Grr... All that idiot asked for him and four others to join him in the up coming team PVP tournament. I have no idea why he did, or why Lord Bowser even agreed!"

"Bowser agreed?" Asked the Pokemon with a hint of confusion. He turned away and brought one of his hands to his chin as he thought. "... Odd."

Blade smirked as he realized the disable had worn off again. However, Mewtwo was too deep in thought to notice, giving Blade a chance to grab his weapon. "Well, now you know too much Mewtwo." Mewtwo quickly looked back around and saw Blade only inches away from his face. "And you know what we do too people who- Eeeh?!"

Mewtwo hadn't said a word, he just reached out his hand, grabbed Blade in his psychic power grip and using some MP, flipped Blade over his head and slammed him into the ground on the other side of Mewtwo. "I wasn't done talking to you yet." He said calmly as he apporched the Warlock. Mewtwo looked down into where Blade's eyes would show and shot another disable, freezing the man on the ground.

"Argh! Soooo cheeeeap!"

"Why did Bowser want Ganondorf? I know you know, stop playing dumb with me Blade."

Blade growled again. "I'm telling you, I haven't a clue! I could care less about him joining or not! It might have something to do with those stupid Broken Characters or whatever, I don't know! But I'm telling you, kitty, I don't know."

"I take it under threats you're not the best at withholding information?" Blade didn't respond to Mewtwo's taunting. "Heh. Well... I'm surprised that Warlock number two doesn't know." Mewtwo crossed his arms and sighed. "It seems Bowser doesn't trust any of you Warlocks anymore."

"Not after you left." Blade spat back.

Mewtwo smirked and floated away from Blade's sprawled out body. "Best decision I ever made. It's a shame you haven't made it too."

"Why the hell would I _want_ to leave?!"

The Pokemon sighed. "I guess when the time comes, you will see."

"ARGH! Enough of this!" Zeros and Ones quickly covered Blade's cloaked body. A moment later, the streams of code were gone and the Warlock was up and charging towards the Pokemon. "No more mister nice Blade!" He swung his sword at Mewtwo, who turned around just in time to block it with a shield of purple energy. The two objects slammed into each other and caused an echo to ring out across the field. A moment later, the two were fighting for dominance of the battle, Blade pushing his sword closer to Mewtwo, Mewtwo trying to knock the weapon from Blade's hands.

"You need to work on attacking quietly if you're coming from the back." Mewtwo said, a smirk crossing his lips.

Blade sneered and gave a push with his sword. "Shut up!"

For what could have been only a minute seemed like an entirety to the two, each fighting to finish off their opponent. Every moment the remained in the deadlock, their MP bar's slowly began to drain down, and unless one of the two gave way soon, the winner would be decided once the loser's bar ran dry. But that was not how this match was meant to play out, as Mewtwo just then caught site of another player warping into the area by means of a white vortex.

Marth stood at the foot of the signpost, a gloomy look upon his face. He glanced down at the path infront of him and sighed. "Man... I guess that means there was no Wire Frame after all." The swordsman began to walk, raising his head after a few steps. When he lifted his head, he noticed that off in the distance there were two players that sorta looked like they were hugging. "What the..." Marth jogged up a little ways only to come to a complete halt in shock when he saw what was going on. "Mewtwo!?" He called out. "A fight? What on earth?"

Blade was about to glance behind him to see who had just called out his opponent's name when Mewtwo's voice quickly gained his attention. "You're lucky, Blade." Said the Pokemon, as his hands began to slowly move downwards.

"What are you..." Blade didn't finish his sentence. Before he could, Mewtwo had moved his hands so far down that his shield of purple had shattered and Blade's sword shot directly forward into the Pokemon's chest, causing Mewtwo's avatar to cry out in pain. "Huh?! Mewtwo!? Why did you just..."

"Like I said before, nothing is impossible if you have the willingness to change it." Mewtwo's smirk and look in Mewtwo's eyes told Blade that the Pokemon was hiding something. "You just did the impossible. Finish the job, or are you two much of a coward?"

Blade growled and his blade quickly erupted into flames. "YAH!" Shouted the Warlock as his blade sliced and burnt Mewtwo's body.

Marth's avatar quickly shielded his eyes from the bright blaze. "Mewtwo!" He called out, his player being able to watch the inferno take place.

The psychic's HP bar quickly dropped to zero and once the flames had disappeared, Blade withdrew his sword and Mewtwo's body fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Why the hell did he just do that?" Blade asked aloud, staring at the body of Mewtwo. A moment past and he shrugged off the mystery. "Whatever." Blade leaned down and a green net appeared on top of Mewtwo's body. "That should keep you from returning to town. I guess now I'll just take the body-"

"Who are you!" Blade sighed and stood up, slowly turning around to face Marth, who now had his sword out and ready to attack. "You're that guy from before!" Marth cried. "I can tell, your name isn't appearing and you have that fancy cloak on! Who are you!? How did you just defeat Mewtwo?! Are you a moderator?! A hacker?!"

"Huh... you're that newbie from the item shop, right?" Blade asked, not once showing any sign of threat from the swordsman. Marth didn't reply, but instead stood his ground. "Funny how we run into each other again. And I kind of feel bad for you, cause now I've gotta destroy that character data you got there." The Warlock quickly gripped his sword and charged forward, only to skid to a stop when he heard the sounds of three more players approaching from behind.

"The sign posts are over here!"

"Took you two long enough! Can't you hurry? I have much better things to be doing."

"Link... I swear..."

"Shh."

"Damn it!" Blade cried, turning about completely. "I don't even have time to upload Mewtwo's data..." After a few curses, Blade placed his sword back at his side and turned around to face Marth. "You're lucky, newbie. But let this be a warning to you, if you see a cloaked player, stay far, far away. Why? We're the the Warlocks."

The Warlock reached into his pocket and took out a green warp pipe, vanishing down it only moments later. Once gone, Marth ran over to the fallen body of Mewtwo. The green net had vanished and Mewtwo's body began to slowly fade to gray. "Do I have any Heart Pieces..."

"Right over here!" Marth looked up and was shocked to see Link, Ness and a third player whom he had never seen before quickly race into view. Marth stood up and walked past Mewtwo's body, preparing to meet with his guild members. "Marth!" Link called out upon seeing their friend. He and Ness ran up to the swordsman, while the third member ran past. "You're still in one piece."

"Yeah. Hey guys..."

"Wonderful." Ness said, rolling his eyes. "Where's the cat?"

"Oh! Oh Mewtwo!" Link, Ness and Marth looked over to where the call had come from. They saw the third member of Link's party hunched over the body of Mewtwo. "You!" Cried the mysterious player. "What the hell did you do to Mewtwo!"

"Me?! Nothing! I didn't do anything!" Marth cried.

"Woah... you PKed Mewtwo?!" Ness asked in shock.

Marth shook his head. "No I didn't! I didn't do anything, I swear! It was this other guy who was here a few moments ago!"

"So why are you in battle ready, huh?!" Asked the new player, pointing to Marth's sword. "I see how it was... this was all a big trick. I knew that bitch Zelda couldn't be trusted! To think I came out here only to see my very own Mewtwo be taken down at the hands of one of YOURS, right?!"

Marth's face showed he was extremely flustered and confused. Link took noticed and stepped forward. "Sir, you're jumping to conclusions. Please, just revive Mewtwo and ask him yourself."

"I don't have any heart pieces..."

Link quickly checked his inventory. "Neither do I."

"I don't." Ness quickly added. Marth just shook his head out of fear of speaking. "No one ever has reviving items when you need them..."

It didn't matter, because no sooner did they all announce the lack of resurrection items that Mewtwo's body had disappeared, showing he had warped back to town. The guild leader glared up at Marth, then Link and Ness. "How dare you do this to us. This is considered an-"

"Why don't you check it out with Mewtwo before you announce anything." Link said cutting off the guild leader's rant.

"...I think I will! But not because you told me so." He took out a green warp pipe and was about to disappear down it. "This is not the last you've heard of me. I will be in contact with your guild leader about this. So help you if we find out that boy over there is the PKer..." With that, he disappeared down the pipe back to town.

"Yeah, well, you're an asshole!" Ness shouted once the pipe had vanished. "Man I hate that guy."

"Ness watch your mouth." Link spoke up quickly. The Hylian looked over at Marth, who was still rather in shock about the whole ordeal that had just happened. "That was the guild leader of SSBB." He explained, anticipating one of the swordsman's questions. "Not the calmest guy in the world."

"Oh. Well... what are you two doing here?" Asked Marth, sitting down. "I thought you two were doing Sheik's mission?"

"We finished it and were on our way to save you, newbie. Mewtwo isn't the most trustworthy person you know." Ness explained. "But by the looks of it, it was Mewtwo who needed saving."

Marth glared at the boy. "I didn't PK him! I swear I didn't, it was this other cloaked guy who showed up. He and Mewtwo were fighting when I first saw them and Mewtwo lost."

Ness looked as if he was going to make a snotty reply when Link quickly interjected. "I believe you. I mean, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you're far to weak to PK Mewtwo without someone else's help. Apparently, their guild leader didn't take much time to check out your level."

"Guess not..."

Ness looked up to his Hylian friend. "What do we do now? We got the newbie... do we head back to Sheik?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, let's go. You have a warp pipe Marth?" He nodded and the three of them took out their items, disappearing down the tube and returning to town moments later.

--

--Hyrule--

We loaded into the busy town after warping back from the field. I saw Marth appear first, then Link at my left side. On his left side, Ness stood quietly. "That has got to have been the weirdest thing to have ever happened to me." I spoke, sliding down in my chair. I mean, wow. This has just been so confusing... long lost brothers, Wire Frames, Final Smashes, an event, a mysterious hacker and now I'm getting blamed for a player killing. All in one day. One day that I said I'd only spend a 'moment or so' on. Ugh.

"Hey guys, I'm going to go stack up on some items." Links' voice broke me out of my thoughts. "I used up pretty much all of them on that stupid Death Mountain trip. Ness, didn't you use up a good deal too?"

"Yeah. Too much if you ask me."

Did they have a hard time on their mission? I wonder if I should tell them I had not a single problem...

I saw Link point to the item shop. "Wanna stock up then before we head back to the castle?"

Ness crossed his arms and shook his head. "No. I'll stack up before I go out next time. Besides, I'm running low on Rupees."

I watched Link nod and wave to the two of us, saying he'll be back in a moment. Without another word, the Hylian ran off to the item and shop and disappeared behind the doors... leaving Ness and I alone. Was that really the smartest thing to do?

A few moments past, neither of us saying anything. Although Marth was facing forward, I saw in my monitor the little psychic standing as still as I, his arms crossed. Moving the camera about revealed he had a slight frown on his face. I wonder... maybe if I try and find out why he doesn't like me we can put it past us?

"Say... Ness."

"What!?" The boy shot back in such an angry tone. Even though Ness had his own, cute programed voice, and the player could obviously be no older then seventeen, the way he shouted and acted made it seem like a grumpy old man was the player behind Ness. The mere sound of it made me scowl, but I continued on.

I picked up my remote and turned Marth to face the boy. "Why don't..." No. Wait... maybe I shouldn't. "...don't you believe me about PKing Mewtwo?"

Ness rolled his eyes at my statement. "Obviously I know you couldn't take him down, I'm not stupid." Grr.. "I was joking with you. I should have known a newbie couldn't catch on."

"Sorry. I'm just a bit worried about what's going to happen now. I mean, the guilds may not have been friends before, but if the guild leader of SSBB overreacted like that... I think that the gap just got ten times bigger! What do you think? Do you think that be all my fault, even though I did nothing?"

"Obviously!" I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a loud sigh that I prayed the annoying boy didn't hear. I really... ugh. "You newbies. All the same." I growled as he paused, picking up his thoughts a moment later, "Why are you worrying about the things that may or may not come to pass? If you want to worry about anything, worry about how you'll fix the problem if it arises." Oh... that was strangely... helpful? "But yes, I believe that it will be your fault SSBM and SSBB go from having an uneasy alliance to 'PK those SSBM sons of a bitches!'" Grrrrrr... "Not that I mind or anything, it just might become a bit troublesome to fight off players along side monsters. Oh well."

My fingers quickly flew across the keyboard, their typing turning into a fun emotion I did the to the capped psychic boy.

"...And you said you're in college. Pssh."

After a quick giggle, I sighed and returned Marth to his normal position. I guess Ness heard the sigh, as he quickly responded to it, "I guess you're just having a bit of bad luck today, huh newbie?"

That was the end of our conversation. We stood in silence until the cheerful Hylian returned, a broad smile across his lips. "I'm back! Miss me?" Both Ness and I shook our heads in unison. "...Wow. I'm feeling the love." Chuckling at his own joke, I couldn't help but crack a small smile. Though Marth didn't show it. "Let's head over to the castle now. I'm sure Sheik has been waiting long enough."

"Fine by me." I said, chasing after Link as he ran off towards the portal.

--Hyrule Castle--

Link, Ness and Marth pushed open the doors to the large castle and quickly they were met with the sound of two people fighting. "Looks like he's already here." Link muttered as the party entered the castle.

"That was fast..." Whispered Marth, lowering his head as they entered the chamber. Infront of them were three figures, Mewtwo and his guild leader standing infront of a bored looking Sheik. "What do you think will happen?"

"I wouldn't worry about it." Said Link. "Sheik and Zelda aren't idiots. They know you couldn't take down Mewtwo alone."

"Don't you think this guy is taking it too far?" Marth asked.

Link shrugged. "It's hard to explain. SSBB and SSBM, like you know, have never been very close. But recently, we've reached a... very uneasy truce. I suppose the idea of one of us PKing on of them is sorta like two unfriendly nations declaring war on each other."

"Seems stupid."

Ness gave a light snort. "Of course. It's SSBB we're dealing with."

As the three neared, the sounds of the argument became louder and louder. "How dare you do this to us, Sheik! This is the worst betray your guild has ever done to us!" Complained the small guild leader of SSBB.

Sheik sighed and crossed her arms. "For the last time, not only do I highly doubt he did it, but you're taking this far too seriously. Please, stop talking."

"Why you-!"

No sooner did the small guild master speak did the temporary leader noticed that Marth and the others had apporched the two bickering players. "Link! Ness! Marth! Welcome back." Sheik cried, trying to get the annoying player to stop his shouting. "Good to see you found Marth in one piece. I'm sure you've met our friend here, Pikachu." She said, pointing to the small mouse like figure infront of them.

"Friend!? Hardly!"

Character: Pikachu  
Race: Pokemon  
Level: 37  
Class: Arcane/Fighter  
HP: 230  
MP: 410

"Well, now that you three are here, maybe we can get some things straightened out without yelling?"

"Yelling?!" Shouted Pikachu. "There wouldn't be any need for yelling if you didn't persist on not listening to me!"

Sheik groaned. "Ugh, come down. Now that all of the witnesses are here, why don't we settle down and find out what really happened. Marth, if you would-"

"Oh no!" Pikachu called out, cutting off the assassin. "Mewtwo, you tell us your side of the story first, before the details get warped!"

Sheik rolled her eyes and glanced over at her three guild members. Marth kept his head down, trying to avoid her gaze. Ness had an annoyed look on his face, while Link just shrugged and looked towards Mewtwo and Pikachu. She then brought her gaze to Mewtwo, who was standing at Pikachu's side, his eyes shut tightly closed. "...Fine. Mewtwo, please tell us what happened."

With a smirk, Mewtwo opened his eyes and turned to face the assassin. "With pleasure, Sheik."

**NESS: This should be good.  
****SHEIK: Quiet Ness.**

"Well, it started earlier today." Mewtwo began. "After our guild completed a Wire Frame search mission, we received word from Ash that one of the areas that Peach had planned to use in her event was experiencing extreme corruption. Ash, in all his wisdom, felt it would be wise to send me to those areas for exploration. I arrived in Death Mountain, and went quickly to Cave Three. After going do to the final floor, I found that there was no Wire Frame, and returned to the surface. Upon returning to the surface, I discovered a mysterious monster. I attacked it, and the battle went on for quiet some time. It was extremely tough, and when I finally managed to defeat it, my HP and MP were both extremely low, into the double digits. So, I entered the command for my character to rest... and while I was resting, I heard footsteps from behind. The last thing I saw was a tall swordsman in blue standing behind with, bringing powerful saber onto my character. Then my screen went black."

An uneasy silence fell upon the castle. Although their faces didn't show it, it was clear that all of guild SSBM was having an extremely difficult time understanding Mewtwo's excuse. In truth, Mewtwo looked a little unsure of his answer as well. The only person who seemed convinced was Pikachu, who nodded and patted his member on the back. "There you have it, Sheik,"

"Are you kidding me?!" The entire room turned to face Marth. "Mewtwo! What the heck are you talking about you liar!"

Pikachu tried to shoot Marth a threatening glare, but there wasn't much the game could do with such a cute face. "HEY! Don't you dare call Mewtwo a liar!"

"Well I wouldn't if he wasn't making up such an unbelievable story!" Marth shot back.

Before the mouse could continue the argument, the room fell silent at Sheik's voice. "Marth, why don't you tell us what happened then." She spoke.

"Alright. As I was searching through Cave three I came across Mewtwo here. I asked him what he meant before and he started all this weird stuff about luck and fate and the color purple that I got so confused. After I got to the end of Cave Three, I warped out to the sign post and walked a little ways till I came across Mewtwo fighting this guy in a black cloak. It looked like they were in a stalemate but when I got close, Mewtwo slipped and the guy stabbed him. After Mewtwo died, he turned to me and tried to attack me, but warped out of the field when Link, Ness and the mouse guy came into the area."

"Mouse guy?!"

Sheik lifted her hand to silence the pokemon. "Mewtwo, is this true?"

He chuckled and closed his eyes. "Of course not."

"Then who to believe." Sheik's gaze traveled across the room at the five players standing infront of her.

"Surely your not going to listen to him! I mean, come on!" Shouted Marth.

"Yeah, c'mon Sheik." Ness muttered, rolling his eyes. "I find it hard to believe Mewtwo's story. He's a hacker after all... what kind of monster-"

"HACKER?!" Pikachu's voice echoed through-out the castle. "How dare you call my Mewtwo a HACKER!!"

Link, Ness and Marth looked surprised, while Mewtwo and Sheik remained unphased by the events. A few moments past until Mewtwo continued the conversation. "Hacker? Me? If you feel the need to drag my name through the mud, I beg of you, do not stoop to that level."

"Huh?" Marth looked up at Sheik with a confused stare upon his face. "Uh, Sheik."

Sheik didn't answer and the group went silent once more. "So what are we going to do about this problem?" She finally asked.

"I demand that your guild disband!" Exclaimed the Pokemon Arcane.

Sheik glared at the mouse. "Try again."

"How about we have a guild battle." Mewtwo spoke confidently, gaining the attention of the group. "Or better yet... are you aware that there is an upcoming team PVP tournament?"

Link took quick interest in Mewtwo's statement. "An upcoming tournament? You mean the Poke Cup Team Tournament, right?"

"I believe so." Spoke the psychic. "After all, a guild battle would be interesting... but, wouldn't it be much more worth while to destroy our rival guild infront of hundreds of other players?"

Sheik shook her head. "No, I don't think that is a good idea."

"Afraid?!" Pikachu asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Our guilds are meant to stay as low-key as possible. Why would we go out of our way to show every person in the game our entire line up of members? I just don't see the reason why that we should waste our time in a tournament. If you want to settle this PVP, then a Guild verse Guild battle will be fine. But a tournament?"

Mewtwo smirked at Sheik. "I see it the other way. After all, our guilds recently have been getting an interesting rep on the forums. I think it will be a good thing to show all the players that we are not some secret service guilds working behind the scenes, as we're too busy dealing with PVP Tournaments."

"As always my Mewtwo makes the most sense!" Pikachu announced proudly. "I agree with him and his idea of partaking in the upcoming tournament. It will give SSBB the time to shine, and hopefully we'll be able to show everyone just how great our guild truly is!"

"Please. Like your guild would even make it past the qualifying round." Link replied.

Mewtwo smiled. "Then put your money where your mouth is and meet up in the Battle Dome. If you're not afraid."

"Like hell we are!" Shouted Ness. "We'll smash you're guild into nothing and when we do, even Ash will start giving us missions!"

"Ha! I'd like to see you guys try." Pikachu retorted. He then turned back to Sheik and asked, "So, do you agree to meet us?"

Sheik answered after a moment of thought. "I can not give an answer yet. I'm only second in command, after all. This type of choice can only be left up to Zelda, who is not with us at the moment. When she returns to her post, I will run it by her and we will go by her words, and hers only."

Pikachu smirked. "Heh. Figures. Then get back to us as soon as you can."

"Fine." Sheik began to walk down from her post on the top of the stairs and started to head towards the door. "Now, if you don't mind, I have some business to take care of in Pherae. Till then, SSBM and SSBB dismissed!"

"Don't you tell me when my guild is dismissed you hussy!" Pikachu snapped back. But Sheik didn't even respond, she just kept on walking towards the door. "Hmph. SSBB, Dismissed." He muttered, waddling off towards the door himself. "I'll see you later, Mewtwo."

Once the two leaders have left the castle, Marth quickly ran over to the floating cat and stood in between him and the exit. "Hold on, Mewtwo."

"I wasn't going, anyway." He replied.

"What the hell is up with that story you told back there? And Pikachu doesn't know you're a hacker? You told me you were a hacker! What's going on here?" Mewtwo didn't answer. He instead floated forward, freezing infront of Marth for a second, but then passing right through the other player. "Why are you trying to frame me for something so stupid?!"

"Just lucky, I guess." Were the last words he spoke before Mewtwo wandered out of the vision of Marth and his companions.

Marth growled. "Screw luck... I wanna know what is going on here."

"I guess Mewtwo just has his own reasons for doing this." Link responded, walking over to his friend. "Who knows. I'm sure you've talked to him, right? Can you figure out anything he means or says? So let's just leave it at that. Sheik's not mad at you. If anything, things have only gotten better. We may have a chance to publicly humiliate SSBB!"

"ARGH!" Shouted the blue swordsman. "Alright, whatever. I don't know, I don't care. I'm logging off now you two. I'll be on tomorrow before the event."

"Alright Marth. We'll see you tomorrow, infront of Peach's castle in Mushroom Kingdom, okay?"

Marth nodded and waved goodbye to Link. He turned and looked at Ness, who was staring off into space. "See you guys tomorrow."

---

I made Marth run out of the castle and return to Hyrule. Once loading into the happy city, I quickly logged off and shut down the game. "What a day..." I muttered, putting down my controller. I sat up out of my chair and walked over to the window, sighing as I saw the sight outside.

"It's already 10PM..." Infront of me I saw the lights of the city off in the distance, shimmering like perfectly aligned stars. "There goes my day."

Before I could take another step forward, a sudden pain shot through my body. It was just then that I realized, I had nothing to eat all day! "Aah! Okay, time for some dinner!" I shouted, racing out of my room and down the stairs into the kitchen.

CONTINUE...?


	18. LOGIN 17

Disclaimer: SSBM, SSBB, And other related games are not mine. They belong to Nintendo and other companies that created them.

A/N: In all honesty, I liked writing this chapter. But there was waaay to much dialogue, so you'll notice (atleast I think) a dip off in quality towards the end. But why did I love writing it? Cause there is like no action fights :D! Don't worry, there will be blood. But not here. So you may not like this chapter.

But on a darker note: I _might _be taking a small hiatus after this chapter. Truth is: while I know how everything is going to happen and when its going to happen (The plot line for this story is longer then this chapter FYI), I've sort of lost my passion for this story. Not writers block or anything, its just that I found myself forcing to write a later chapter and I didn't really like it. Prior to this, I was all pumped up about writing, enjoying it every moment of the day. But as of right now, that pleasure is slowly vanishing.

Of course this break won't be long at all (maybe, at worse, a month), but I just would rather my readers read my BEST work, rather then my forced work. I hope you can understand. (but remember, I may pick up the inspriation again after seeing all these new leaks for SSBB ! Which, by the way, I will be giving out my friend codes to anyone who wants to growl in anger as they see my little main taunt you, "Up until now, biatches!") And just so you know, this does not mean this story is ending. At all. So don't worry, just pretending the servers are down for repairs.  
Good news though: This means my Macbeth story might get updated!!!!! WOW!!!! Shocker.  
Oh wait...  
This is kinda a big chapter to be leaving off at now that I think about it.  
Eh... okay, you'll get **atleast** **one** **more** before the possible hiatus. (My writing style is that I always have atleast one other chapter done before I release a chapter, just incase)  
I'm so nice, I know. Leave the cookies in the review :3 /ego lol

Background Music:  
Haven't done this in a while...  
Dramatic Background Music at the end of the Chapter: Together we Ride(?), or the Hyrule Temple Fire Emblem Theme.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #17: Event of the Year /sarcasm**

--Pherae--

Sheik warped into the large city and began to walk through its streets. Over the last update to the game, the designers made a slight change to Pherae, mostly to differ it from Hyrule slightly. The major change to the town was now a thick fog lingered in the sky above them, dulling everyone's colors and giving the town an eerie appearance. The fog reduced the mysterious castle in the distance to only a shadow, and the roof-tops of the houses were all but vanished in the deep mist. None of the players seemed to take notice, or even cared, though.

The assassin walked a few more blocks through the town until she came to a stop next to a random house on the street. She leaned up against the side of the building, closed her eyes and waited. It wasn't long until the one she waited for arrived; "Hello, Sheik."

She looked over at the floating cat Pokemon, Mewtwo, as he apporched her. "Why did you follow me?" She asked immediately.

"If you didn't want me to follow, you wouldn't have announced to the others where you were going." He replied with a smirk, joining Sheik on the side of the house. "I was the only one in that room who could travel here. What is it you need?"

"What's up with this whole tournament stuff?"

Mewtwo chuckled. "Don't you believe my story?" A glare from Sheik was all he needed to laugh again. "I thought it be fun."

"Just tell me the real reason before I tell your little Pikachu you're a big bad hacker."

"Like he'd believe you." He paused and laughed to himself again. "Well, I fought one of the Warlocks today."

"Which?"

"Blade."

Sheik nodded. "I see. Why did he attack you?"

"He didn't tell me." Mewtwo answered. "My guess was he was there to search for a Wire Frame... and ran into me."

"I guess Bowser is getting serious about these Wire Frames."

Mewtwo nodded in agreement. "They are also rising in ranks."

"You mean they-"

"Ganondorf apparently joined recently. You know, the one who's part of the Event."

"Ganondorf is a hacker?!" Sheik proclaimed.

Mewtwo shook his head. "I don't believe so. He may, but... I doubt it. I think they only wanted him because he's part of the Event." Sheik nodded. "I believe Bowser is looking for those stones and he thinks they're linked to the Event. If they are, it would benefit him to have more people part of the Event on his side."

"Interesting." Sheik muttered, rubbing her chin in thought. "So he's starting to gather people too... I wonder how many players who are part of the Event have yet to discover that they are part of some grand plan are left to be found. Not much, I would assume."

"Anyway, back to your original question." He spoke, returning Sheik's attention to him. "Are you aware that Ganondorf will be partaking in the upcoming Poke Cup Team Battle?"

"I am now."

Mewtwo laughed to himself again. "Yes. He will be. I figured since Ganondorf is most likely not a hacker, and not head over heals for Bowser yet, if we enter the tournament and defeat his team, we may be able to convince him to join either SSBB or SSBM, depending on who defeats him."

"Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through, just for one person." Sheik commented.

"Thats why I thought it would work easier if we pretended the tournament was a set up for a friendly PVP between our two guilds." Explained the cat. "Let the players think that they're having a fun match, while in truth they're helping us stop a Warlock and perhaps gain an ally. Good idea, wouldn't you say?"

The Hylian assassin laughed this time. "You're very cunning Mewtwo." She said, looking over at the psychic. "But without some tampering from the admins, I don't think we'd even make it into the tournament. Aren't the qualifying rounds over?"

"Yes, they are. But I'm sure Ash could pull a few strings. He is, after all, our Peach. And I'm sure she'd do the same in this scenario."

A moment past before Sheik spoke up. "I'm going to have to think about this, Mewtwo. Wire Frames have been appearing at a higher rate then ever. Players are becoming more and more interested. I just don't think this PVP Tournament would be the best thing at this time." Before Mewtwo could answer, she pushed herself off the wall and began to walk away.

"Leaving so soon?"

"I have to log off and go to bed."

"Why?" Sheik turned around and stared at Mewtwo. "Heh, is that a secret too?"

Sheik chuckled. "We all have secrets to hide. By the way, when are you telling Pikachu you're a hacker? Doesn't most of your guild know you are one, anyway?"

Mewtwo nodded. "Yes. But why blow my cover? Pikachu is like a safety net, keeping me from the admins. Now, they can't do anything to me, but... how annoying is it to have Captain Falcon following you around, trying to get you to follow his rules?" Sheik laughed again and nodded with the pokemon. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Maybe. Till then." With a flash of light, Sheik was gone. And only a moment later, so was Mewtwo.

--

-The Next Day-

"There is still some left in your hair..."

"Ack... okay, did I get it out now?"

I examined Mike's hair thoroughly and noticed some of the goo left over from our science project turned messy disaster. "Nope, still there."

He sighed and took out his comb again, running the teeth through his brown hair. It was funny, I guess, watching him comb over the same spot five times before he realized he wasn't trying to look good as much as he was trying to get out the dripping red putty now growing hard on his hair. "How bout now?" He asked.

"No, its still in there. Try combing the left side this time."

Mike rolled his eyes and slipped his comb back into his pocket. "Argh, screw it. I'll just take a shower when I get home. Let's go."

I nodded and picked up our red stained paper. "Sure, let me just give this to Dr. Salun."

"I'll meet you outside then." Mike picked up his books and left the classroom as I made my way down towards my teachers desk.

"Here." I said, placing the report away from the other, clean papers. "Sorry about the stain. Hehe."

Dr. Salun reached over and looked over my paper for a moment. When he said nothing, I turned to leave but was stopped in my tracks a second later. "Hang on a moment. I'd like to have a word with you." Oh boy.

I turned around and leaned against one of the desks. "Yes, Dr. Sulan?" I answered.

"You've been missing alot of my classes recently, you know." Oh... I have a feeling I know where this is going. "Normally I would just think that you might be sick those days, since other days you come. But I've been talking with your other teachers and..." He glanced over at a list near his papers that he was apparently going over. "It's not only my class you've been missing. Mr. Sku's writing class, Mr. Arnold's history course, Miss Cleo's acting lessons as well as my class." He folded his hands and looked up at me with an accusing glare, expecting me to explain myself.

"I, um-"

"Is something going on at home? You can tell me, you know, I am your advisor for the year. Do you have a job?"

"No, it's just been... I don't know..." How do you tell a teacher you're playing an online game to try and save the world? You don't, thats how... "Busy lately. I'm trying, I really am, but... things keep getting in my way."

"Your grades are slipping-"

"I know!" I quickly cut him off. I really didn't have time for this, it was almost 2:30, and I had to be home at 3. "I'm going to sign up for some tutoring I think. And I'm going to try harder to get here on time. But I have to go now, one of those things keeping me busy is about to start! Don't worry, everything is under control."

"Well... if you say so. Still-"

"Thanks Dr. Sulan!" I cut him off again. Oops. Without waiting for a reply, I picked up my book bag and ran out the door. "Ugh... I feel bad... but I need to get home."

"You do?" I heard Mike's voice from behind. I turned around to see him standing at the door waiting for me, now with a frown crossing his lips. I nodded slowly. "Oh, that sucks." He muttered. "I was hoping we could go tp the mall. Isn't Shannon's birthday coming up soon?" Oh! It is, isn't it? Uh-oh...

I sighed and continued, "Thats right, I almost forgot. I'm gonna have to do it tomorrow then, I have to get home to do something at three. So I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" He nodded and I quickly ran off in the opposite direction on my way home. I doubt Peach will hold up this event just for me.

--

I ran upstairs, dropped my books, turned on the computer and logged into the game. "Oh." I said upon noticing the blinking 'NEW' next to updates. I clicked on the channel and it brought me to a page entitled 'Attack on the Castle' "This must be Peach's event."

It looked like a story for the event or something, so instead of skimming through it, I thought it would be easiest to just log on and figure out the plot by myself. It was getting late, after all. So instead of reading, I closed it down and entered the wonderful world of Smash Brothers online with my loveable swordsman...

--

-Hyrule-

Marth loaded into the surprisingly dull city of Hyrule. "Oh, not much going on today." He muttered, glancing about the town. While there were still a large amount of players, it wasn't as full as it has been in the past few days. "I guess they're all off at Peach's event." Sighing, Marth began to scroll through his lists of players to see who was online and who was off. "I'll send a message to Link to see if he's waiting already."

**MARTH: Hey Link, I just got on. R u waiting?**

After a minute or so, he replied.

**LINK**: **Yeah, by Peach's Castle, remember?  
****MARTH: Yeah, I just wanted 2 know if u were there or not.  
****LINK: Well I am. Ness isn't yet...  
****LINK: He should be here soon.  
****MARTH: Awesome.  
****MARTH: Not the be here soon part, I mean.  
****LINK: lol :D**

Marth turned and headed towards the white portal at the end of town, walking into the misty circle and selecting to warp back to the server of Mushroom Kingdom.

-Mushroom Kingdom-

With a small flash of light, Marth warped into the busy first server of the game. Although it was slightly more active then Hyrule, being the first in the game and all, it was still surprisingly under active for the time of day. "Huh. It's pretty nice here when not every inch of the town is covered with a player." He said, walking towards the mushroom shaped fountain. He glanced around the area and noticed to the left of him the gates to Peach's castle. Resting on the side of them was a familiar Hylian swordsman in a green tunic staring at the ground. Grinning, Marth ran over to his companion, waving as he apporched. "Link! Hey there!" He called out.

Link looked up and smiled at his guildie. "Marth. Finally, someone showed up! It's almost three! Here, let me invite you."

Marth accepted the invitation and soon joined Link in resting against the side of the gate, waiting for their third and final member. "So, how long before the grouch shows?" Marth asked, sitting down on the ground.

"I'm not sure." Link answered, crossing his arms. "I haven't heard from him since last night. I'm hoping he's going to be on soon."

The blue swordsman nodded and looked out into the crowd of players. Here and there, players of all different races and classes were mingling, chatting and shopping. Talking about the latest monster they took down, the newest item they found or how close they were to the next level. "It sorta feels weird watching them." He said, switching over to party chat.

"Who?"

"Normal players." Marth explained. "I mean... how much do you think they know about the stuff that is going on around them?"

Link chuckled slightly. "Oh, I'm sure they have a good idea. How fast do you think information travels nowadays since we've got the internet?" Marth shrugged. "Well, pretty fast. I doubt everyone knows about the Wire Frames. But I'm sure somewhere, on the forums or in a guild, they are researching the Wire Frames, studying our guilds and trying to connect the dots."

"Oh."

"If you' already feel weird watching them after only a few weeks of joining SSBM, this whole Event must have had a pretty big impact on you."

Marth shrugged again. "Well, this is my first time ever playing an online game. It's sorta freaky I guess that I got wrapped into all this so quickly Uhh, not that I believe the Master Hand stuff thought!."

The Hylian smiled. "I know the feeling."

"So, people know our guild is working with the admins? Daisy said there was a rumor on the forums about it."

"Oh yeah. I've heard about that too."

Marth looked over at his party member. "How do you think they figured we were part of this whole big jumbled mess?"

"Well..." Link started, staring up into the smiling clouds. "Rumors can start anywhere, from a small bit of truth that is then blown out of proportion. This is true in real life, as well as on the web. But on the internet, its not just a folk tale past down, or a legend, its something that can be copied, pasted and edited by anyone. Lets say you heard a story of a small girl baking cookies, but she causes a small fire in the process. You could edit it online and turn that small story into a huge tale of the girl baking man eating cookies that tried to burn down the town. And whos to say it isn't true. After all, if you come across a professional looking website, I'm sure some will believe it really happened."

Marth nodded. "I get ya. Anyone could make anything on the web and post it on a website to make it seem real, right?"

"Not really... uh, well, I guess thats sorta what I was saying." Link replied in a confused tone. "But this is how I think we got tangled in the mess. I'm sure you know how famous Zelda is, right?"

"The Waiting Lady? Yup, I've heard my share of stories."

Link nodded. "So, if you weren't already in it, what would you think the guild of the famous Waiting Lady would be like? Pretty cool, huh, if she's the guild leader. When people found out she ran a guild, people's imaginations ran wild, claiming all sorts of weird things. Just because they didn't know anything about it."

"So that made people think we were part of the event?" Marth asked.

"I think that, along with the fact that Luigi is in our guild made people think our guild was very special, since after all Luigi is friends with Mario, and Mario is friends with Peach and Peach is an administrator." Marth nodded again at Link's explanation. "So connect the dots. Mysterious, unknown guild ran by a famous, silent, unmoving player, who has famous members, one of them being friends with the administrator Peach herself. Then throw in the fact that these Wire Frames are showing up, yet every post made about them is deleted and there are these mysterious glitches called Broken Characters that try to delete normal players. And oddly enough, where ever there is a Wire Frame, there is likely an SSBM member. Just give that to some conspiracy theorist of a player and see what they come up with."

Marth chuckled to himself. "Sounds like a bad science fiction story plot."

Link smiled but didn't answer. He instead looked to his right and saw the young psychic boy in a blue and yellow shirt approaching them. "Hey Ness. C'mon, we gotta get going!"

Ness moaned as he apporched the two. "Ugh. Link, you know as well as I do that Peach always waits about fifteen minutes before she starts the event anyway. I'm early if anything..." He looked over at Marth and smiled. "Hey newbsicle."

"What kind of insult was that." Marth asked, glaring at the boy.

Ness shrugged. "I don't know, heard some idiot say it to someone on the way here. So I thought it'd be funny to try it out on you."

"Gee... Thanks."

Without another word, the party list gained one more member the finally the three had a complete party. "Alright then, now that we're all here, why don't we head off to Hyrule Castle?" Link announced, pushing off the wall.

"Why don't we stack up on some items first." Said Ness, pointing to the item shop. "You never know, Peach might let us use them."

Link thought about it for a moment, but then nodded. "Yeah, let's do that just incase."

The trio set out to the various shops lining Mushroom Circle, gathering what items they could with their gold. After a few minutes of shopping, they reunited at the white portal out of the server, and warped off to Hyrule, where they headed onto the castle and Peach's event.

--

-Bowser's Castle-

The large turtle hacker was making his way down the grand hallway of his created base with Ganondorf following closely at his side. "So if you want to enter the Poke Cup, you're going to need a team, correct?"

Ganondorf nodded. "Yes. And if thats why we're here today, then I trust you've made the arrangements to have me be in the tournament? The qualifying rounds are over, you know."

Bowser paused in his tracks. "...I'll handle it." He said after a moment, returning to his strolling pace. They kept going down the barely lit hall way until they came to a large door way on the left side of the hall. "This is where all my hackers gather in their down time. I'm not going to send you with one of our warlocks, due to the fact you'll learn their identity. And that goes against everything I want in the order."

"Doesn't that Blade guy already know who I am?"

"Don't worry about that."

Within the chamber, a group of hackers were gathering around a large mount of gold, rupees, swords, guns, hammers and other riches that they had either came across in their adventures, or hacked into their possession. Most of the hackers were laughing at specital that was going on. Dr. Mario sat atop the mound of gold, a hacked throne as his seat. At the bottom of the mound, Wario was being tied up and thrown into the gold. "Who is this whimp you bring before I, LORD BOWSER?" Dr. Mario called out dramatically, causing the others to giggle.

"A weakling we found trying to break into our castle!" Cried a hacker who looked like a green female Boo monster with two red ribbons on either side of her body.

Dr. Mario stood up and slid down the gold slope. "Ah-ha! Lady Bow, good find, good find! Now watch as I, LORD BOWSER, destroys this foolish fool for entering my kingdom!"

Character: Lady Bow  
Race: Beast ? (Hacked)  
Class: Arcane/Fighter  
Level: 60  
HP: 700 (Hacked)  
MP: 2000 (Hacked)

Wario growled. "You can just go to hell Dr. Mario. Why am I always the one you guys are tying up?!"

The hackers laughed again. A large man named Samurai Goroh leaned over the tied up hacker and answered, "Mules don't have the right to do anything else but serve the hackers! So quiet you."

Character: Samurai Goroh  
Race: Human  
Class: Swordsman/Fighter  
Level: 75  
HP: 800 (Hacked)  
MP: 0 (Hacked)

The assassin lifted his hands into the air and, with a bit of hacking, began to cause very small fire balls to shoot out from his palms. "Now be deleted with my powerful flame breath!" Dr. Mario pointed his palms at Wario. "You can not resist deletion! This is the most original super villain power ever, after all!" Another moment past and the fire balls finally stopped coming. "Oh no?! What is this?! I, LORD BOWSER, am defeated?! NO! This can not be, as I, LORD BOWSER, can not be defeated!"

The group broke out laughing again as Dr. Mario fell to the ground dramatically. But just then, the large doors flew open and an imposing shadow filled the room. All eyes turned to see Bowser and Ganondorf enter the chamber and the hackers went silent. "Attention." Bowser spoke firmly, causing all of his hackers to fall into place. "This is Ganondorf. He will be partaking in the Poke Cup Tournament, and he needs a team. No more then five, no less the three according to the rules."

Ganondorf nodded. "Will I be choosing my team or you?" He asked the turtle.

"Uh, you may if you want."

"Good." Ganondorf walked over to the line of hackers and began to look them over. A minute or so past as the Gerudo judged the line-up before finally speaking up. "Lady Bow, I'll take you. And you, Samurai. We need an arcane and swordsman on our team, and I've heard some good things about the both of you from the forums."

Lady Bow batted her eyelashes as she joined Ganondorf and Bowser. "Ooh, it's an honor working with you. You're one of the few legit players I respected. But I guess thats not the case since you're here now! Haha!"

"Quiet Bow, lets show some respect." Goroh muttered, glancing away from the Gerudo in embarrassment.

Ganondorf smirked as the two joined him in ranks. "Thats three then..." His eyes continued to scan across the group of hackers until he came to Dr. Mario. "Wow... the infamous Dr. Mario is one of your hackers, Bowser?" He asked, turning around to look at the Koopa.

"...So it seems." He replied, slightly agitated.

"Dr. Mario, welcome to the team." Ganondorf announced, pointing over to the other two warriors near Bowser.

Dr. Mario couldn't help but grimace when he saw the angry look on Bowser's snout, but nodded and walked over to join the other two hackers. "Thank you for selecting me." He said quickly once joining the team.

A few more moments past as Ganondorf continued to scout the area. But after a while, he sighed and turned back to Bowser. "I'm sorry, but the rest of these guys look mangy and weak. Can they really handle it?"

"HEY!" Cried out a few of the hackers, but they were quickly silenced again by Bowser's menacing glare.

"If you can not find anyone worth while, then perhaps we should-"

"WAAAAIT!" Bowser was cut short by a loud shout coming from the mound of gold in the back of the chamber. Out from the coins popped the large man, Wario, who ran on over to the front of the line and bowed before Ganondorf and Bowser. "Lord Bowser, I beg of you, allow me to join Ganondorf's team so that I may prove to you and these so called hackers that I am not just a mule, but a worthy ally in your cause!"

Ganondorf and Bowser exchanged glances. "It's not my choice, Wario. It's his." Answered the beast.

Wario's pleading eyes turned from Bowser to Ganondorf. "...Fine. You look like you could take a few more punches then most of these weaklings here."

The majority of the hackers moaned upon hearing Wario had been chosen to take the last spot. Especially Lady Bow and Samurai Goroh, who both looked extremely displeased that the 'mule' would be joining them. Dr. Mario was among the few who remained emotionless, as he was too busy worrying if he had somehow annoyed Bowser by being there. "Very well." Bowser said once the complaining had stopped. "Ganondorf, Bow, Goroh, Dr. Mario, and Wario... I will make arangements for the five of you to participate in the upcoming tournament. I'll get back to you five when I have more information on the tournament. Till then, you are dismissed. Dr. Mario, would you follow me?"

The group went their separate ways, most of the players logging off. Bowser and Dr. Mario began to walk back down the hallway that he and Ganondorf had just come from once all of the other players had vanished from sight. "You're missing your cloak..." Bowser muttered, looking over at the small human angrily.

"I know." Dr. Mario replied. "I figured it would be best to try and show the other hackers that Dr. Mario and Euthanasia are two different players."

"You picked a bad time to do it. I didn't want Ganondorf to have another warlock in his team."

Dr. Mario smirked. "Why?" He asked.

"If anything goes wrong, I'd rather just lose the new one, then lose a more valuable player." Explained the Beast.

"Oh? What do you think is going to go wrong?" Asked Dr. Mario, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'd just rather not risk putting a more important person up in center stage like that."

"Do you want me to leave his team? Asked the assassin.

"No. Let it be this way. We need to gain his trust right now, and if I remove you, he may think I'm trying to sabotage his chances for winning the tournament."

Dr. Mario nodded. "I see. I still find it odd that you're even doing this whole thing just to gain his trust." He stopped in his tracks, causing Bowser to turn and look back him. "Don't you think you're going a bit far for just one person?"

"I know it may seem that way..." Bowser began to explain. However, he stopped mid-sentence and looked at the floor of his castle. He then reached behind him into his shell and pulled out the beautiful blue Stone of the Void, showing it to Dr. Mario. "But I believe that Ganondorf could be an important key in solving the mystery of these stones, and unlocking the power of the Corrupters." The two stared into the sparkling stone for a moment before he returned it to his shell. "So you see, I can't take anything for granted." The turtle turned and continued on his way back to his chamber. "Let's play along with him just a bit longer, until we get what I, I mean we want. You're dismissed."

Dr. Mario watched as Bowser's figure disappeared into the shadows. Once he was completely alone, the assassin began to chuckle quietly to himself. "Interesting information, _Lord _Bowser." He spoke, grinning to himself. "I wonder if she'll be interested in it..."

--

-Hyrule Castle-

Upon warping into the area, all three of the players were hit with a familiar, yet hated event of the game: lag. After about a minute of loading, their characters were able to begin strolling through the open field in front of them. However, they were not alone. Besides the trio, The normally open and endless field was filled to the teeth with groups. There were hundreds of teams, chatting and showing of various skills. And also unlike normal times venturing into the area, the large doors to the castle were locked shut.

"Look at all the players!" Marth exclaimed, watching in awe at the large amount of players about to partake in the event. "I wonder if anyone we know will be taking place in it?"

"Oh, that reminds me." Ness looked up at his Hylian friend. "Link, did Sheik finally give us an answer of if she and Pit will enter with a third member?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me. Sheik said she and Pit were going on an SSBM mission today so they wouldn't be joining us."

"Really? That sucks... that means we have less of a chance of one of SSBM teams reaching Zelda before the hacker does."

"Oh! That reminds me again!" Link couldn't help but laugh at his own memory. But the laugh quickly subsided and a stern look crossed his face. "Remember why we're here everyone. To get to Zelda before Bowser or one of his hackers get to her first. In the mean time, lets try and scan the area for any mysterious players that might be one of Bowser's minions."

"So should we split up then?" Marth suggested.

Link nodded. "Yeah, we'd cover more ground that way. So we'll meet back here in a few minutes. If you happen to see a mysterious player, send us a whisper and we'll head to your location. Alright everyone?" The three of them nodded in unison, then set off in different directions across the field.

Little did they know that they were already being watched by a player not too far away from where the three had loaded into the field. "Hehe. So those are the SSBM guys, hmm?" He chuckled, a smile crossing his lips. "This should be a piece of cake."

Once alone, Marth began to weave in and out of the mass of players, glancing around for anyone who looked suspicious. "I guess I should look for someone who looked like that guy Mewtwo fought yesterday..." He said to himself, recalling the encounter. "A cloaked player."

"Marth! Hey there Marth!" Marth looked over his shoulder to see two happy bouncing puffballs make their way over to where he was standing.

The swordsman turned and smiled at his two friends. "Jigglypuff, Kirby! You guys are here for the even too? Didn't think you two would come... awesome!"

"Yeah, I heard this event was suppose to be really interesting." Jigglypuff said, smiling a cute smile. "This will also be my first event ever so... this is gonna be fun."

Kirby nodded with Jigglypuff. "Mhm, this event has drawn out nearly every player in the game! How one earth do you think we could miss it?"

Marth chuckled a bit and began to look around. "Where is your third member? I thought we had to bring atleast three people to enter the event."

"Oh, yeah we have our third member. He's over there." Kirby pointed a little ways to the left. Marth followed the stubby arm to see a short man with green boxing gloves, a black tank top and shorts bouncing up and down in place. "His name is Little Mac, he's an Iron Fist. So we're pretty much set for a good run, we have a healer, a damage dealer and, well... me." The puffball giggled at his comment, pointing proudly to himself. "After all, I can be _anything!_"

"So Marth, where is your team?" Jigglypuff asked the chuckling swordsman. "Are they near?"

"Oh. No, we split up for a bit." He explained. When Jigglypuff looked confused, Marth continued. "Well... I'm sure I can trust you, Jigglypuff. Anyway, you know what the grand prize of this event is, right?"

Jigglypuff shook her head. Kirby, however, nodded and answered the player's question. "You get a full day with the famous Waiting Lady, Zelda, of course!"

"Oh... that's an odd prize." Muttered the female puffball. "...Wait... um, Marth... Why is Zelda the prize?" She looked over at the swordsman confused. "You know, don't you?"

"Well you see..." He leaned down so that the two players could hear his whispered words clearly. "Uh... Jigglypuff, do you know about Bowser? And his hackers, The Warlocks?"

Jigglypuff looked down at the ground for a second in thought, then nodded. "Yes... I remember Pikachu talking about them. Apparently, they're looking for the Wire Frames too, yes?" Marth nodded in agreement. "What do they have to do with Zelda?"

Marth laughed nervously as he began to explain, "As weird as it sounds... this whole thing is a trap to try and find out if Bowser and his Warlocks are chasing us down also. Apparently, one of the Warlocks fought two of our guild members and defeated them. And yesterday, I ran into a Warlock who defeated Mewtwo and was about to kill me, but Link, Ness and Pikachu showed up just in time."

"Oh! Wait... Pikachu... said you PKed Mewtwo..." Jigglypuff muttered. "Th-Thats not true, right?"

"Of course not!"

"Aah! I figured... So-Sorry!"

"I have no idea why Mewtwo lied like that, but whatever." Marth stood up and crossed his arms. "Anyway, thats the reason why Zelda is the prize. So she's pretty much bait. And right now, I'm looking around at all the other players trying to see if I could find anyone who looks... well... out of place."

Jigglypuff glanced around at the swarm of players chatting with one another. "I saw someone... before. He seemed... out of place."

"Really?! Where?!"

She shook her head and gave Marth a sad stare, cueing to the swordsman she didn't remember. Kirby, however, spoke up and said, "I remember seeing him over on the side of the castle. Remember Jigglypuff? He was hunched over looking all... spooky and stuff."

Marth nodded and turned to look at the castle. "Thanks you two! I need to find this guy fast, so I'll talk to you two later. Good luck on the event!"

Else where on the castle grounds, Link was making his way through the swamp of players, pausing once at a small clearing to view the area completely. "No players seem out of place..." He spoke quietly to himself. "Could it be they didn't take the bait?"

"Bait? What bait are you talking about Link?" The Hylian turned around and jumped in surprise upon seeing who had snuck up on him. "Why were you talking to yourself again Link? Didn't mom tell you not to do that?"

"What on earth are you doing here Saria!" Link cried, pointing a finger at the slender arcane Saria infront of him. At her side, two smaller Hylians were chuckling lightly, Tido and Mido.

Saria shrugged and closed her eyes. "I didn't know I wasn't aloud to partake in an event for every single player!"

Link's shocked expression quickly turned to a worried one. "Oh, I'm sorry if I came off like that! But you should know I didn't mean to sound like that, because you can participate in this event. I just didn't think I'd see you."

"...Not very good with sarcasm, are you Link?" The swordsman tilted his head in confusion. "Nevermind. What were you talking to yourself about, hmm? Bait? Bait for what?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Said Link with a grin. "Heh, I was talking to my friends in party chat I mean. Or I thought I was, rather! Yeah, haha..."

Saria rolled her eyes. "I certainly believe that." After seeing Link's hopeful look, she quickly reminded, "That was sarcasm."

"Oh..."

"So what are you doing out here, roaming around aimlessly?" Asked the female Hylian. "Where's your party?"

Link shrugged. "I was just looking for them. We split up a while ago, and I couldn't find them."

She giggled, placing a hand on Link's shoulder. "Well, if that is true, I wouldn't wander off too far, you know. You're a pretty hated subject right now, after all." When Link didn't reply, Saria explained. "After they announced that Zelda was the, ahem, 'prize', rumors went a-blazing on the forums. Apparently, Peach and Zelda rigged the event so that members from Zelda's guild, SSBM, could win it and become famous."

"Are you... serious? Or was that sarcasm too?" Asked the confused Link.

"Just look around you."

Link did just that. He began to look around at the other players and noticed that most of them were staring in his general direction. Now, that didn't always mean they were looking at him, since most players have their settings so they can see in a 180 degree view, but Link could tell some were looking directly at him. With an angry look no doubt. When a person clicks on another player, their eyes follow to look at that avatar. And if a player was giving you a glare, their eyes became more forceful then others. And Link could tell just who was glaring at him and who was staring in his direction. And there were a lot of glares going. "Woah... talk about friendly."

"So you see them, hmm?" Link nodded and Saria giggled. "I don't understand why they think you guys want to become famous. After all, you guys _are _famous now that this rumor got out." She took her hand away and turned around to leave. "We'll be going then. I'd watch your back while you in the event, if I were you. Oh, and by the way, since you guys are famous, I hope you don't mind the three of us winning this event, right?" Before Link could reply she giggled. "Of course right. Ta-ta."

The swordsman looked about worriedly at the angry amount of players glaring at him. "Geez... looks like this event is gonna be fun."

"Attention all players!" Cried Peach's voice. It was loud and echoed through-out the entire field, like an announcement. "The event will begin in a few minutes! Please get together with your teams and begin preparing! I repeat, the event will begin shortly!"

"Well you heard the lady, we better get back together." Link said over his party chat, turning around to walk back to where he left his party.

--

The programed wind blew across the barren desert, blowing along tumble weeds and sand past tall, eyed cactus. This desert area was known as the Dry Dry Desert, and it was encased in a eternal spell of night. Players wandering these sandy trails should be wary of many dangerous monsters that lurk beneath the sand, such as the Pokeys and Spinys. One such player need not worry about those low level beasts, however. Dr. Mario stood in the middle of the harsh, empty desert, staring up into the dark blue sky and gazing into the many different stars. "I wonder if she'll be able to make it on such short notice." He muttered to himself, crossing his arms.

"Hey look! He's over there!"

Dr. Mario's eyes quickly shifted to his right as he saw five figures approaching him, each with their weapons out and ready. "Hmm?"

No sooner had Dr. Mario noticed the group was he quickly surrounded by them. They each looked relatively the same, varying only in size and color. "So look who it is?" Spoke the red one, directly infront of the assassin. "It's the infamous Dr. Mario, out here, all alone, with not a Sheik to be found."

The group began to laugh. "Looks like we hit the jackpot Red dear." Said the Pink one who was at Dr. Mario's left.

"Yeah! Without that Sheik around, we've got this in the bag!" Was what the green one at his right said.

Dr. Mario exiamined each of the warriors, then closed his eyes and sighed. "So are you fools bounty hunters? Or are you just out of warp pipes and in need of a quick way to return to town..."

The red one chuckled. "Heh, you wish! Everyone, why don't we tell this guy who we are!"

"Green!" Said the green one.

"Pink!" Cried the pink one.

"Yellow!" Was the name of the yellow.

"Black!" You get the picture.

"Red... and together we're..."

"THE AXEM RANGERS!" They each shouted in unison, striking a pose with their weapons.

Dr. Mario wasn't amused. "Never heard of you."

Upon hearing his words the group fell out of their poses and began to glare at the assassin infront of them. "Never heard of us?!" Shouted Black. "Why, we're the guild that put an end to Petey Piranha's reign of PKing terror over the Kanto server!"

"Petey.. Piranha..." Dr. Mario brought his hand to his chin and thought. "I remember hearing about him a while ago. Good PKer. But one day he just disappeared off the bounty list." He lowered his hand and gave a displeased look. "So, its the five of you who took him down?"

"You bet we are!" Boasted the yellow ranger.

With that Dr. Mario sighed and shook his head. "Man... either you guys totally surprised Petey while he was down, or Petey was a total wimp after all. I mean, there is no other way a pathetic group of level forties could take down him without some sort of handicap!"

The rangers let out a loud group growl. "WHY YOU! Don't you dare talk that way about-"

"Hahaha..." Green's sentence was cut short by their leader, Axem Red, chuckling. "Ah, Dr. Mario... a pathetic group of level forties, you say? Rangers, I think we've talk to our prey enough. Why don't we show them how we pathetic level forties handle a bounty head!"

Pink nodded. "Yeah, enough playing around. Let's finish him!"

They began to inch in closer to the dangerous player, their weapons all pointing towards Dr. Mario's body. But this display couldn't help but make the assassin smile an evil smile. "You guys are really going to try it, huh?" He asked, starting to chuckle a bit. "Well... suit yourself."

Dr. Mario reached down to his sides and pulled out two of his daggers. The sight of him removing his weapon from his holster was the last thing they saw of the assassin, who quickly vanished into a white blur. "Where did he go!?" Black shouted, looking around the area. All around them, flashes of white were seen, appearing here and there, and disappearing a moment later, the only evidence that there was one something in that area were two light foot prints in the sand. However, the sound of Dr. Mario whizzing through the air could be heard, regardless of where the doctor was going to go next.

"He's fast!" Commented Yellow, also trying to pinpoint where Dr. Mario would first strike from.

The only Axem Ranger not panicking was Red. He was standing with his weapon perfectly calm, waiting for his attacker to strike first. "Come on Dr. Mario... stop playing with us." He muttered under his breath just as a white flash zipped in front of him.

And just then, the whizzing sound and the white flashes stopped. "Where is he now?!" Said Pink as they began to look around the area.

"Guuhya!"

All eyes quickly went to Green, who had collapsed onto the ground, his body fading to gray. Behind the player's corpse was Dr. Mario, playing with one of his daggers. "I take it you all know each other outside of the game, right? I mean, you each have the word 'Axem' in your name and a color. It can't be a coincidence, yes?"

"He... he took out Green in one strike..." Yellow said in shock, backing away from the deadly healer. "He's... He is very strong guys!"

Black, the closest Axem Ranger to Green, wasted no time in reacting. He turned and charged towards Dr. Mario, lifting his huge axe over his head. "You bastard! I'll slice off your head and-"

There was a light clink sound, and suddenly Axem Black's assault was halted. Dr. Mario had stopped the oncoming attack with his dagger, and with a quick swipe to the right, Dr. Mario sent the axe soaring into the sky and out of Black's hands. Weaponless, Black stood helplessly as Dr. Mario charged forward and sliced him straight through his body and depleted the ranger's HP to zero. Black fell to the ground with a similar moan of pain, his body fading in color as well. "Two down." Said Dr. Mario, looking rather bored as he lifted his dagger into fighting position. "Who wants to go next?"

Yellow and Pink both took a few more steps away from Dr. Mario, while Red was watching on with eager eyes. "Why are you two backing away!?" He shouted, causing Pink and Yellow to snap into place. "Pink... you know what to do."

"We're still going through with the plan? He just took out two of us in less a minute!" Cried Pink, worried for her character's data.

"Do it, Pink. Now."

After a moment or so, Pink nodded and reached to her sides, pulling out two items. No sooner did she take out the items did she fling them at the ground. The green mushrooms she had just released traveled quickly towards Black and Green along the desert ground. Dr. Mario raised an eyebrow as he watched the items near the bodies, but gasped once he realized what Pink had just used. They collided with the fallen bodies of the Axem Rangers and in a flash of pale green light, a quick in-game sound effect chimed and the two players were back on their feet, HP completely recovered and ready to fight again. "1UP Shrooms?" Asked Dr. Mario.

Red chuckled again. "Would you like to know how we defeated Petey Piranha?" He asked, glancing over at the assassin. "Before we go out on a hunt, each one of us stocks up on atleast five stacks of 1UP Shrooms. Then when we find our target, anytime we die, one of our surviving members will us a 1UP on the fallen ones, reviving them. We begin to slowly wear down their HP, because no matter how good a PKer you are, its not possible to take down five players at once. So we'd constantily keep getting revived, and with twenty five stacks of 1UPs between us, our shrooms always last longer then the players. Right Axem Rangers?"

None of the other rangers answered. They were all too busy staring at Dr. Mario, waiting for him to make his next move. No one they had faced up until then had defeated them with a single attack, and they weren't about to let it happen again. "RIGHT!?"

"R-Right!" They called back nervously, still not once removing their eyes from the doctor.

The assassin began to laugh. "So, this plan of yours is how you took down Petey? Wearing him down?"

Red nodded. "Genius, I know. And soon, you will fall as well to this strategy."

"This plan of yours... has it ever failed?"

Axem Red couldn't help but smirk. "Not once."

"Hmm..." Dr. Mario gripped his blade tighter and smiled. "First time for everything."

Elsewhere in the desert, two familiar players warped into the dark field. "Sheik, are you sure he said here?" Pit asked looking around the dark field.

"Yes, I'm sure. Let's go!" Sheik quickly dashed off from her starting point, running at her top speed across the dunes of sand. Pit followed closely behind, his flapping wings giving him the speed needed to catch up with the speedy assassin. "Why, do you think this is a trap or something?" She asked, glancing over at Pit as they ran.

Pit shook his head. "No, I just thought it was an odd place to meet. An area in the Mushroom Kingdom... just weird if you ask me."

"Whatever the reason, let's just get to the area and explore." They continued to barrel across the desert until Sheik shifted her eyes once again towards Pit at her side. "Is that the fastest your character can move?"

"Pretty much, yeah." He replied.

Sheik gave a smirk, though Pit couldn't see. "Well then, I hope you brought a bunny hood. Let me show you how we assassins move..." She jumped into the air and her body flashed a light yellow. When she landed a moment later, she sped off at nearly triple the speed she was traveling at. The only thing left behind was a large cloud of dust and a coughing Pit.

"Sheik! Aw man, she's gone..." Muttered the angel, watching Sheik's trail of dust travel further away. He continued to fly along at a steady speed for a few more seconds until a light green orb appeared over his head, exploding soon after into a pair of bunny ears. Once the ears were on his head, Pit was sent soaring off after Sheik, leaving nothing behind but a trail of blown up sand.

--

Link noticed that one of his team mates was finally returning to the spot where the three had first split up from. "Hey Marth." Spoke the Hylian as his blue haired friend returned. "You look kinda down... couldn't find anything?"

Marth shook his head and looked at the ground. "No. I ran into Kirby and Jigglypuff, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They told me they thought they saw a mysterious figure on the side of the castle. I checked it out, though, and if anyone was there, they had left a while ago."

Link sighed and shrugged. "Oh well. Maybe Ness had better luck."

"I take it you didn't find anything either then?"

Link smiled a sheepish grin and nodded. "Yup. Couldn't find a single out of place soul. But I too ran into a familiar face."

Marth looked up from the ground. "Hmm? You did too?"

"Remember that girl Saria?"

The swordsman thought about it for a second, then suddenly recalled the tall Hylian who had stolen their kill. "Oh... yeah. Why is shehere?!"

"I guess to take part in the event... which should be starting soon I might add." Link began to search the area for their third member. "Where is Ness?!"

"Hey guys..." As if on cue, Marth and Link turned to see Ness approaching the two from behind, a gloomy look on his face as well.

Link smiled, trying to cheer up the boy. "How did it go Ness? Couldn't find anyone suspicious?"

With a sigh, Ness shook his head no. "Oh, no... I found something much worse."

"MARTHY!"

"YACK!"

Thud.

Within a matter of seconds, Marth found himself flat on his back with a grinning Daisy sitting ontop of his chest. "Oh, my Marthy! How long has it been since our eyes last met?"

"Like two days! Get off my character, geez!" Daisy giggled and got off the swordsman, who sat up and began to rub his back. "I really don't like the /tackle emotion right about now..." He muttered. "Next time, just a nice handshake will do."

"Oh, I'm sorry dear Marthy." Daisy replied, bending down to also rub the swordsman's back. "But I just can't contain myself when I see you. It's been too long."

Marth rolled his eyes and stood up. "Yeah. Two days too long..."

"So you get my point! Oh, Marthy! Embrace me!" Daisy stood up and leaped towards Marth, her arms open wide. However, Marth's avatar quickly moved to the left, causing the leaping Daisy to miss Marth and fall face first into the ground. In small text, the word 'Rejected!' appeared above Daisy's head as her avatar let out a low moan of pain. "How cruel of you..."

Once the spectacle was finished, Link turned and looked over at the groaning psychic. "I tried to lose her, but she insisted on following me!" Ness blurted out, knowing just what the Hylian was going to say. "I swear! Why would I want to bring _that _thing back with me?"

"Why are you here Daisy?" Marth asked once the healer stood up. "I thought you said you didn't want to participate in Peach's event and wanted to go treasure hunting."

"Well yes, you see that is how I was planning on doing it." She said, putting her hands on her hips. As she did, a devious smiled curled onto her lips. "But then you see, I thought about it. What better treasure is there to hunt then... the guild leader of SSBM?"

Before Marth or Ness could answer, Link stepped in and said, "Well, sorry to disappoint you Daisy, but there is no way you're going to win this event. So why don't you just give up now and go find a real item instead of wasting your time?"

"Quiet you. I'll take part in any event I want too." Daisy turned her face away from Link with a scoff. "So, Marthy..." She said, inching her way over to the swordsman. "I heard you were looking for a mysterious player, hmm?"

Upon hearing her say that, Link shot a fierce glare over to Ness, who giggled nervously and was starting to slowly back away. "Not really." Marth lied. "We're just waiting for the event to start."

Daisy didn't seem phased at all by his lie however. "Oh please. I know full well what's going on here."

"Do you?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course. This 'person' you're waiting for is no doubtably Peach, who is going to rig the event so your team would automatically win!"

Link chuckled. "As much as we wished that was the truth, there is no mysterious person we're looking for. We're just looking for anyone who looks like they'd be a threat. Hence why we didn't notice you until now." Daisy growled slightly and pointed her staff towards Link in the same way she would if fighting a monster. "You can't attack us until we get into the event..." He said, placing his hands on his hips. "Not like it'll hurt me, anyway."

"Why you!"

Marth glanced over at Ness, who's eyes were darting back and forth between the two players nervously.

**MARTH: I didn't know Link could act like this lol  
****NESS: Now u know.. he is pretty scary at times...**

After a moment of the stand off, Daisy pulled back her staff and sighed. "Hmph! Link, you've been acting like a jerk recently, you know that?!

"I wouldn't if you would just leave your huge nose out of our business!"

Daisy let out a loud gasp. Within seconds, her surprised face turned to one of rage as she glared menacingly. "No one makes fun of my nose..." She pointed her finger angrly at the smiling Link and shouted, "Link, I swear that when we meet on the battlefield, you will be my first target! And I will take you and the rest of your team down! I don't care if Peach is going to make this event completely unfair, there is no way I'm going to lose to a person like you!"

Link raised an eyebrow, looking surprisingly confused. "Uh... Is your computer generated nose really that important to you?" He asked. "...Or, um... was that sarcasm?"

"GrrrrrrrAAH!!" Daisy shouted, turning away from the Hylian. She began to march off when she stopped to turn and look at Marth with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry my dear Marthy, but thanks to your friend over there, I'm going to have to destroy you as well."

Marth rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Um... Thanks?"

"No hard feelings, Marthy. I'll make sure your death will be quick and degen-less." She shot a glare back at Link, who still looked confused. With one final growl, Daisy stomped off into the crowd, disappearing in the mob within ten seconds.

Once they were sure she was gone, all three members let out a sigh of relief and turned back to facing each other. "Well, now that she's out of the way, let's get back to the task at hand. Ness, you said you didn't find anyone who was out of place, right?"

Ness shook his head negatively at Link's question. "Nope. Not a single player stood out as Warlocky. Is it possible that Bowser was smart enough to see through this trap?"

"Yeah, I'm sure he knew this was a trap..." Link replied with a nod. "But I thought he would send atleast one of his members to check out the event, just to make sure it wasn't. I'm a bit disappointed we didn't find any mysterious players... Ah well. So guys, about the event..."

As the three continued to mutter to themselves about searching for the player, and their plan of attack for the event, another player's avatar was making it's way over to the trio. "...So It's settled. I'll be the main tank. Marth, I want you to be a back up damage dealer. Ness, you're on healing duty, got it?"

Marth and Ness nodded and they were about to continue on when they heard a player call out to them. "Excuse me..." They turned around to see a tall human, taller then Marth and Link with a brown mullet and beard standing in front of them. His armor was a simple blue jump suit, however, over the suit were tons of straps and harnesses that looked as if they could hold small weapons. Around his forehead he wore a bandana and a warm smile was upon his face. "I heard you three were looking for a mysterious character?" He asked.

Ness groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Ugh, have we been talking on local chat all this time? Or is Daisy really that big of a blabber mouth?!"

"I'm going to go with choice B." Link answered with a smile. He then turned to the newcomer and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

The newcomer pointed off to the east. "I saw a cloaked guy over there hunching over in the corner, muttering these weird things to himself. So when I heard that you guys were looking for a mysterious player I thought I'd tell you..."

Upon hearing the word cloaked player, all three pairs of eyes lit up. "Really? Where is he now?!" Marth shouted, stepping forward.

"I think he's still there... Want me to show you where he is?"

Link shook his head. "No, I'm sure we can-"

He was cut off by Marth. "Link, we need to hurry! The event is going to start soon, so just let him show us the way!"

"As much as I hate to say it, I, for once, agree with the newbie..." Ness muttered, looking away in shame.

The Hylian looked at his two teammates for a moment, then sighed. "Alright. Please, show us where this player was."

The player nodded and turned around. "Follow me." He commanded, dashing off towards the east. Link, Ness and Marth were soon to follow, the four trampling through the crowd of players like a stampede of bulls.

"By the way, what's your name?" Marth asked as they ran through the crowd. "I'd try to check it, but with so many players I have no clue who's name is yours and who's isn't."

"My name?" He repeated, to which Marth nodded. "It's Foxhound."

"Foxhound... thats an awesome name!" Marth gushed as they ran through the fields. "I hate my name... it reminds me of Math."

Foxhound looked over at Marth confused. "Then why did you name your character that?"

Marth noticed at both Ness and Link were eyeing him, making sure he didn't give away any information in his answer. "It's um... an inside joke."

"Oh."

"And I guess you'd like to know our names right? I'm Marth, that's-"

Foxhound smiled and cut off Marth's sentence. "I know who you three are. Marth, Link and Ness. You guys are pretty popular on the boards, you know." His smile faded. "Is it true that you're going to hack the event so that your guild will win?"

"Don't be silly." Answered Link. "We were just as surprised at Zelda being the prize for this event as you were. We had no idea this was going to happen. Now we're just entering this event for the fun of it, to try and win our guild leader!"

After a few more seconds of running Foxhound finally came to a stop at the edge of the field, where the mob of players had thinned down to about nothing. Pointing a slender finger, he showed to Marth and the others just where the mysterious cloak player was waiting. "That's him... right there."

Infront of them was a tall figure in a long black cloak. His body shape was that of a human, smaller then Foxhound, around the size of Link. On the hood that covered the players face, the intimidating number six stood out in bold print. The cloaked figure was leaning up against a tree, staring off into the distance, and now right into the face of the four players who had just arrived. "A black cloaked player... the number six..." Whispered Link. "There's no doubting it... that's one of Bowser's Warlocks!"

"One of who?!" Foxhound exclaimed, taking a step back. "Yo-You mean thats one of Bowser's hackers?!"

Link's face immediately went pale as he felt the stares from Marth and Ness grow harder and harder. "Uuuuh... Um... No! No... no! Of course not, hahaha!" A sheepish grin with a quick rub behind the head in nervousness was enough to trick their guide, who shrugged it off a moment later. "Phew..."

The cloaked figure began to laugh. Though none of the players could hear it, the emotion was very clearly moving the hacker's shoulders up and down with each chuckle. "So atleast now we know that Bowser wasn't completely smart enough to avoid this event." Ness spoke over their team's chat.

Marth nodded in agreement. "Yeah, looks like it. So, are we going to kick his ass now? Send a whisper to Peach? What do we do next Link?"

Link shook his head. "Not sure... I say we get in touch with-"

"Hello there." Their conversation was once again interrupted by a newcomer. This one, however, wasn't alone. She wore a long light green dress, and had long blonde hair, some of which fell down infront of her face, covering her right eye. On top of her head she wore crown and two earrings shaped like stars. In her hand was a magic wand and she was floating a few inches off the ground as she apporched. At her left side was a small man in blue overalls and a red shirt. Small and round, he had a mustache and a hat branding the letter M. To her right was a more familiar face, Luigi.

Link and Ness's eyes winded upon seeing the new trio enter. Marth, on the other hand, remained perfectly fine. "Hey Luigi. Who are those two?" He asked.

His two fellow guild mates quickly shot fierce glares over to the swordsman, causing him to whimper weakly and slip away in fear. Once that was over, the two began to quickly swarm around the small man in red. Luigi couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, walking over to comfort the sulking Marth. "Hey Marth. You see that guy Link and Ness are gushing over?"

"Yeah..."

"That's Mario!"

Character: Mario  
Race: Human  
Class: Iron-Fist/Fighter  
Level: 100  
HP: 1850  
MP: 1200

Mario sighed and pushed the two fanboys aside. "Come on you two, you do this every time..." He muttered, crossing his arms. "Yes, I'm great, someone _always_ has to reminds me every moment of the day... But do _you_ two need to swamp me each time you see me?"

"Oh, but Mario, not everyone knows of your greatness!" Said Ness, pointing at Marth. "That NEWBIE didn't even know your name until yesterday!"

Mario glanced over to where the boy was pointing and saw Luigi patting the swordsman on his back. He walked over to the two and leaned down to look over Marth. "Marth, hmm... you're new to the game, aren't you? Well, newer then Link and Ness anyway."

Marth nodded. "Yeah. So, are you really the great Mario?" The man in red smiled and nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you! Those two fans over there told me a bit about you."

Mario examined Marth closely and gasped upon seeing what guild he belonged too. "Oh, my! You're part of the Ev-"

"Mario!" Hissed the floating woman.

He glanced over and saw that she was motioning to the tall hunter who was standing calmly with his arms crossed. "Oh... right..." Mario turned his gaze back to Marth. "You're in their guild, huh? Then here, I think you need this."

**MARIO has given you his GID!  
****Give yours?**

"Oh, woah, thanks!"

With a smile, Mario nodded and stood up. "No problem. But say, who is your friend here..."

Marth looked over at Foxhound, who was watching the group with a rather bored look on his face. "Oh, he's the guy who lead us to... him..."

"Really?" Mario asked, staring at the player.

Foxhound nodded. "Yeah, I over heard them talking about a mysterious player. I thought nothing could be more mysterious then a cloak, and chose to tell them." Mario nodded as Marth and Luigi made their way over to the blonde woman. "Well, I think I've overstayed my welcome. I guess I'll be on my way." He turned and began to walk back towards the crowd, shouting out only once; "Good luck you three! Maybe we'll meet again in the event!"

Marth turned and waved to the retreating figure. "Good luck to you too Foxhound!"

"Hm... Odd." Muttered the Iron-Fist, turning around to join the rest of the group as they stared at the woman in the green dress.

"So, Luigi, who is this woman?" Link asked.

Luigi chuckled. "Why, it's Peach of course!"

Link and Ness both gasped in shock. "Really?! Well.. I guess it sorta looks like Peach." Ness muttered, examining the player.

"I'd prefer if you called me Rosalina."

Character: Rosalina  
Race: Human  
Class: Healer/Buffer  
Level: 90  
HP: 890  
MP: 1800

"Rosalina?" Asked the Hylian.

She nodded. "Yes. Thats my character's name. And since Moderators aren't suppose to play in these events, I think it will be best if you know me here as Rosalina."

"Personally, I think Rosalina is better looking then Peach." Luigi commented with a nod, but receiving a glare from Rosalina. "But despite that, she only insists on playing this character when going under cover. And its not a very common thing we do, you know."

"Back to the topic at hand..." Rosalina turned and looked over at the cloaked man, who was still staring out at the group, not moving once from his spot. "It seems your friend pointed you three in the right direction. There is no doubt in my mind... thats a Warlock."

"What are we going to do about him?" Asked Link. "Now that we know he's hear, should we take him out? Or capture him so he can't log off?"

Rosalina shook her head. "There isn't anything I can do as Rosalina. And Peach is already in her stand-by mode. The only thing we can do is find him during my event, and reduce his HP to zero. When that happens, I'll use my powers to transfer his data into a holding block, so that he can't log off and we can enter his files. Perhaps if we hack into his files, we'll discover what he and the Warlocks are up too."

"So we've got to take him out?" Summed up Ness, to which she nodded. "Sounds like fun."

"If you run into any problems, don't hesitate to call on us." Said Mario. "We'll be right along side you guys in the event, and if you need our help, Peach will warp us to your area in a flash."

Marth smirked. "Not like we'd need any help, but thanks!"

Upon hearing his comeback, Mario looked slightly shocked. Link and Ness both gasped in terror, afraid that their teammate had just offended the great Mario. However, after a few moments of tension, Mario began to chuckle lightly. "Interesting. Then I guess I'll just have to find the Warlock myself, if you won't be needing any help."

"I guess so!"

Link and Ness jumped forward and grabbed their swordsman friend quickly, pushing him to the ground to stop him from talking. "So-Sorry about him, Mario!" Link said with a dopey grin. "He doesn't know what he's talking about! Haha..."

"Yeah, don't listen to the newbie!"

Mario sighed upon seeing their behavior. "You two..." He muttered, lifting his cap to run a hand through his hair. "You're such... idiots..."

The two looked as if their world had just come crashing down around them. "Id...Idiots..." They repeated, falling over in shock. At the spectacle, Luigi giggled, Mario sighed and Rosalina coughed to gain their attention.

"Anyway, more importantly..." She turned to face the Warlock. "The war- Oh!" Her sudden gasp quickly gained the entire group's attention. Upon hearing it, they all turned to see that the Warlock had moved. "We lost him..."

"He couldn't have gotten far!" Link shouted, jumping to his feet.

Luigi nodded. "Yeah, if we split right now, we can still catch him."

"There's no time." Rosalina said, raising her hand to calm the group. "I have to go make the announcement that the event will be starting now. Besides, we can't do anything with him out here anyway. We've gotten as much information from him as we could right now - the information that Bowser had taken interest in my event. Now what we should do is focus on finding him during the event and beating him, so that I can transfer his data to a holding server."

Luigi and Link nodded reluctantly and Rosalina smiled. "Come Peach, let's get you ready for the announcement." Mario said, taking Rosalina's hand leading them off towards Hyrule Castle. Luigi followed closely behind, giving his guild members a thumbs up for good luck on his way over.

"Oh... by the way." Rosalina turned around to face the trio again. "I have a... small hint for you." Link and Marth looked confused and waited for her to finish, while Ness just seemed bored. "Sometimes its best to just let the NPCs run themselves and for you guys to just take a back seat. Especially the suicidal ones. Kay?" Marth and Link exchanged glances, then looked back at Rosalina, who smiled and continued on her way with Mario and Luigi.

As the three disappeared into the crowd, Link, Ness and Marth all turned to each other and began to discuss the topic at hand. "So we're going to need to find and destroy the Warlock... this might be more difficult then I thought." Link muttered, glancing down at the ground in thought. "You two sure your ready this? Bowser's Warlocks are the worst kind of players. Even though we're part of the Event... there is still a chance they can get into our data and delete us, you know..."

"Really?" Asked Marth.

"Yeah. Unlike the moderators, who are limited by what they can and can't do by Nintendo, the company that makes this game, hackers can do nearly anything to a character. While most hackers won't be able to touch your data, though, the Warlocks are supposedly the best of the best in that area. Zelda told me that she once had a run in with Bowser and nearly got herself deleted."

Marth looked surprised. "She's seen Bowser before?"

Link nodded again. "Yeah. But I don't know what happened between the two, all I know is that they met and had a fight, and Zelda was almost deleted."

The blue haired swordsman nodded as Ness spoke up. "Well, I can't speak for the newbie, but I now for sure that I'm ready to kick some Warlock ass!"

"Of course I'm ready!" Marth shouted.

The Hylian smiled at his two teammates. "Alright... good. Then it looks like this is going to be fun..."

As Link spoke, the background music of the area suddenly changed into a more dramatic, battle theme style. All three of them, along with nearly every other player in the field, turned their gazes upwards to where a floating pink dot was seen hovering above the castle. They soon burst into cheers upon seeing that it was none other then Peach. "Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the second annual Attack on the Castle event!"

The crowd cheered once again and confetti began to fall from the sky. Marth looked rather excited, while Ness just rested his arms behind his huge head in boredom. Link was the only one taking it seriously, his happy face taking that of a stern one. "Here we go..."

Peach raised her hand to silence the cheering crowd. "Unfortunately, it seems that the very beasts we slayed a year ago have returned! And they are on their way to kidnap Princess Zelda!"

Another round of cheers. "Zelda's a princess?" Marth asked confused.

"If you would watch the opening cut scene, you would know that, newbie." Ness snapped back.

"As we speak, the forces of darkness are growing just beyond the mountains. They bring with them powers like you have never seen, and a horde of possessed Gerudos! It is up to you to enter this castle and protect Princess Zelda!" The crowd began to cheer and chant once again. After a minute or so, Peach raised her hand again and silenced the players. "There will be three stages in this event. The first stage will take place within Hyrule Castle. You and your team will be teleported into their own field, your own map of the castle. It is your job to travel through the castle and defeat the oncoming Gerudo forces. Once you complete this stage, you will be warped to the second stage of the Event, the underground labyrinth! In this stage of the event, your teams will be battling against one another, trying to gain magical keys to open the doors to the beasts sacrificial lair. Once you get into that chamber, it will be up to you to defeat the beasts high-priest, and save Princess Zelda once and for all!"

The crowd cheered again. "Hmm. Doesn't sound too much different then it was last year." Ness muttered, stroking his chin in thought. "I thought she said she changed some things."

"But there is a catch this year, my friends!" She shouted above the cheers. Once they settled down, she dropped the bomb, "Out of all of you here, only the first sixteen teams to complete the first part of the event will move on!"

"WHAT?!" Shouted nearly every player in the area.

Marth looked around at the other teams in shock. "But- But there has got to be atleast a hundred other players here!"

Ness also looked like he was about to panic. "Uh... Oh boy... Not good."

Link was the only person remaining somewhat calm. "Well... that just made things alot harder..."

"And thats not all. Unlike the last time, you will not have unlimited resurrection buffs this time around, aside from anything your Healer can provide you. Instead, you will each get one, and only one, 1UP Shroom. If you die, your shroom will activate and revive you. But once its used, you can not get it back. Sounds difficult, huh?" There were some cheers, but not as loud as before. "I think you can handle it! However, there is still one more thing. You will all be receiving a level cap of forty for this event. So if your above level forty, I hope you remembered how you played through that level. And if your lower, well... you're welcome."

There were no cheers this time, outside of a few zealous players. Most of the teams were busy whispering to their teammates, worriedly discussing their last minute strategies. Link, Marth and Ness were among these groups, talking about how they should pool their items. Peach smiled at her work and began to speak again. "I know this makes the event seem difficult, but think of the rewards! Glory, fame, riches and a chance to get a in game wish come true! How can I not make this event the most challenging this game has ever seen?"

The mass of players began to chant Peach's name and cheer once again. "Alright then. Is everybody ready!?" The crowd shouted their reply. "I can't hear you! Is everybody ready!?" They replied again, this time nearly every single player shouting. "Very well! Attack on the Castle will begin in five..."

Jigglypuff glanced over at Kirby, who looked extremely eager to jump into the event. "So, do you think we stand a chance Kirby?"

"You bet we do!" He replied with a grin. "Right Lil Mac? The boxer looking player standing behind them smiled and nodded, and all three went back to watching the count down.

"Four!"

Tido and Mido stood on either side of Saria, their arms crossed. "What's our plan?" Asked the taller Tido.

Saria closed her eyes and smiled. "You know I don't very much care for plans, right?"

"Three!"

Daisy shook her fists furiously and growled. "Hurry, hurry! I want to kill that loser Link noooow!"

"Two!"

Mario and Luigi were busy staring up at the moderator counting down, a limp Rosalina at their side. "Should we just breeze through the event? Or should we try to make it seem like we had trouble?" Luigi pondered outloud.

Mario couldn't help but smile. "What do you think?"

"One!"

Marth, Link and Ness all prepared themselves for the final countdown. "Here we go guys..." Said the Hylian as they watched the final countdown.

However, they didn't know they were once again being watched. The cloaked warlock was looking right at the trio, a grin across his blacked out face. "Yes, let's go..."

"BEGIN!"

CONTINUE...?


	19. LOGIN 18

Disclaimer: I do not own SSBM or SSBB or any other franchise that appears in this story. They belong to their respected games and parent companies.

A/N: This is the ultimate showdown guys :D The event has finally started. So get ready for long fights that drag on for chapters at a time! Hurray, yes? Hurray!  
Just so you know, this is the last chapter I'd be posting before the possible hitaus (which I'm pretty sure wont be happening now though).  
I also think this is the last chapter I'll be posting before the release of Brawl ('course that could change)  
Assuming thats true, expect my next chapter to be filled with Brawl A/Ns :D lol

Thank you for your reviews everyone! I'm going to finally start sending out PM replies to my reivewers if you'd like. Just make sure if you want to reply you send it to my e-mail adress (read my profile)  
On the topic of profile, I'm gonna post fun polls about SSBO in my profile so like check it out if you have nothing better to do :D  
Without anymore ado, welcome to the "Attack on the Castle" Arc (It's shaping up to be **atleast** 4 chapters)  
Read on with caution, for there are many battle scenes. :D!

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
****LOGIN #18: Attack on the Castle! - Part 1**

--

-Dry Dry Desert-

The wind whipped about the sand, sending it curving up into the moonlight, only to have it fall back down into a neat pile on a neatly blown out dunes a moment later. A low, peaceful western tune gently played in the background while players hunted their rare monsters hiding beneath the sands. But the calm atmosphere of the desert was quickly ruined by a man in a white doctors coat dashing across the dunes with a group of five colored warriors following closely behind.

Dr. Mario continued his mad dash through the desert, glancing back every now and then to see if the Axem Rangers were still giving chase. "Stop running you coward!" He heard the Red Axem Ranger scream out as they tried to close in.

"Heh... Good thing you idiots spent more time pumping up your attack points rather then your speed." Dr. Mario muttered with a smirk, turning back to look at the empty desert infront of him.

"Give up! We have you beat Dr. Mario!"

The healer couldn't help but chuckle. "You have me beat?!" He shouted back to the rangers. "Yet I'm still alive! I don't know what you're talking about!" He lowered his voice and his small smirk faded. "If I hadn't realized you guys were duplicating the mushrooms as the fight went on, I think I might just have gotten beat. Funny, hackers chasing down a hacker just for some gold they can easily make themselves. Newbies perplex me."

As he continued to run, his eyes soon came across a grove of trees in the distance. "Hello... What do we have here?" Arching an eyebrow, he quickly figured that the upcoming oasis would be the perfect place to lose his followers. Once he ran under the cover of the leaves, Dr. Mario quickly jumped into the air and landed on a branch of a near by tree with a good deal of leaves covering the top. Peering out from one of the small gaps in the leaves, he watched as the Axem Rangers came to a stop near the tree and began to glance around.

"Did we lose him?" Green asked.

Pink's eyes showed she was nervous. "Wh-Where did he go? Is he going to sneak attack us again?"

"He's most likely hiding in one of these trees." Said Red, pointing to one of the trees near where the healer was hiding. "Spread out and search."

The killer healer watched as the five rangers ran in different directions, leaving the ground below the tree empty. "Well that was-"

"Try not to speak so soon."

Dr. Mario immediately spun around after hearing another players voice and was met with a point of a sword staring directly into his face. As a reaction, Dr. Mario quickly swiped his dagger up from his side and push the sword out of the player's hand and jumped out of the tree. "What the hell?" He muttered upon landing, glancing upwards into the leaves of the tree. Out from the branches fell a green skinned beast wearing a white tunic and sporting a red cape that blew in the simulated wind. "What is this thing now?"

The character seemed to take offense. "Ugh! Well, if you must know, which I'm surprised you don't already..." He ran a hand through his golden hair and smiled. "My name is the magnificent Prince Peasley, the one and only bounty hunter! And I'm here to claim your bounty! So please, don't panic and-"

"Why were you hiding in a tree!" Shouted Dr. Mario, not caring much for whatever the prince was about to say next.

"Well... I was hiding, waiting for the perfect chance to ambush you."

Dr. Mario looked confused. "How long were you stalking me?"

Peasley didn't reply. Instead he took out another sword and pointed it again at Dr. Mario. "Enough chatter, naive! I shall smite you with my-" In a flash, Prince Peasley disappeared and the assassin quickly readied his weapon. "Bean Stalker Blade!"

Dr. Mario looked upwards and saw the fast glowing prince shooting towards him. With only a moment to spare, Dr. Mario jumped out of the way of the impact, Peasley's blade smashing into the desert sand. As Dr. Mario flipped in the air, from the spot that the swordsman had just attack shot out a huge bean stalk. It soared up into the air and exploded a moment later into green dust. As Dr. Mario landed and his character regained balance, he quickly lifted his dagger and began to search the area for the warrior. "He must be atleast level eighty to use that move..." Muttered the healer, his watchful eyes not stopping their gaze. "Must be new to-"

"Haha! Got you now, idiot!"

From behind Dr. Mario, Axem Yellow jumped up and lifted his axe into the air. At such close range, Dr. Mario wouldn't be able to dodge this oncoming attack. So instead he spun around on his heel, and pulled out his white sheet looking item and swung it at Yellow. The sheet changed the attacker's direction, causing Axem Yellow to instead smash his axe down onto the sandy ground behind him. His sheet vanished and Dr. Mario quickly jumped away from the ranger, landing a few feet away under another tree. Within a few seconds, all of the Axem Rangers had returned to the site, surrounding the assassin once again, their axes pointed directly at him.

"No where to run too now, Dr. Mario!" Cackled Black as they closed in on the healer.

"Back away from him you imbeciles!" The Axem Rangers and Dr. Mario looked upwards to see Prince Peasley drop down from the sky into the middle of the ring of the rangers and point his blade directly at Dr. Mario. "The doctor want to be is mine!"

"Who do you think you are!?" Green shouted pointing his axe towards the newcomer. "He's our prey, we saw him first!"

Prince Peasley began to laugh. "Yes, but in this world of health points and number damage, its not who deals the most damage, but who depletes the last life points that gets the gold!"

"Oh, so the great Prince Peasley just another kill stealer?" Pink asked, rolling her eyes.

Dr. Mario looked rather confused once more. "You know him?" He asked, pointing to the green man.

"Why of course! He's Prince Peasley, one of the best bounty hunters on the server... are you saying you don't know him?!"

Black laughed. "Well of course Pink, he didn't know who we were, why would he know him?!"

"First off, my name is the MAGNIFICENT Prince Peasley." He corrected, running a hand through his hair. "Secondly-"

"Shut it!" Bellowed Axem Red. "Enough small talk! Get out of the way or we'll cut you down as well!"

Peasley chuckled to himself. "I'd love to see you try."

"Very well. Axem Rangers, a-"

Red never finished giving his command. Instead, he, as well as the other Axem Rangers were blown backwards by a large ball of red energy slamming into the desert where Dr. Mario had been standing up until a moment ago. Dust and sand blew up everywhere, blinding each of the player's vision. During the fray, another blast of energy smashed directly into Prince Peasley, which while they didn't see, it was unmistakable upon hearing an avatar cry out in pain, "My hair!"

When the sand settled and the dust cleared, all of the Axem Rangers and Peasley were laying on the ground, their HP being severely reduced. The only player who was not effected by the huge blasts was Dr. Mario, who had seen the blasts coming and managed to put up a shield to protect himself. "Dr. Mario!" The healer glanced behind him and saw a woman with long brown hair standing on top of one of the trees, a huge rocket launcher type weapon pointing directly at them. She had a light purple jump suit on, and had red protective plates around her chest, feet and waist. "Wanted on numerous acts of PKing, assumed acts of item modification, hacking, item duplication and random acts of harassment to the server."

Dr. Mario frowned. "Thats me..."

She smiled and shot another huge ball of energy out of her launcher. It came barreling towards Dr. Mario, to which he easily managed to dodge in time. Once he landed a few feet away she announced, "My name is Jody Summers and I'm here to take your bounty!"

"I figured..." He replied in an extremely uninterested tone.

"Any last words before I blast you into nothing?!"

Dr. Mario sighed and looked around at the other fallen bounty hunters, who were starting to recover from Jody's first blast. "Yeah I do..." He said, looking back up at Jody. "How the heck did you all know I would be here?!"

--

"BEGIN!"

Those were the last words I heard before my screen went black. "So, it's begun..." I whispered, staring up at my black computer screen. Scrolling across the screen were the words: You are currently loading into Hyrule Castle for the Event. Please wait a moment.

I wonder what this event is going to be like? She said in the first leg of the race, we're suppose to fight the Gerudo forces attacking the castle. So I guess that shouldn't be too hard... What will be hard, though, is making sure we finish in time. If only the first sixteen teams can make it to the next round then... we've really got our work cut out for us.

"Oh!" The colors on my monitor began returning and I found Marth standing in the middle of a very regal room. It was small, and looked like a bedroom of some sort of princess.

"AAAAH! OH NO!"

"Why is THAT here?!"

I heard Link and Ness shout from behind me, but due to my position in the room I couldn't see. I wonder what's going on now...

--

Marth turned around and too jumped in shock upon seeing what Link and Ness had just yelled at. "Zel-Zelda!" He shouted, running over to the group. Ness and Link were both staring at Zelda, who was standing next to the window, looking out at a large army of Gerudos marching towards the castle. Upon hearing Marth's voice, she turned around and smiled. "What are you doing here?"

After hearing Marth call out to her, Ness grumbled something and looked over at the swordsman. "No, newbie. This isn't Zelda." Marth looked confused and waited for the boy to explain. "It's... a..." His face took a grim expression as he uttered the last word, "_henchman_..."

"...A what?"

"An NPC who tags along with you during certain missions and quests." Link explained. "They temporarily join our party and help us fight as if they're one of our own members. Check the party member to see."

Marth did just that and noticed that underneath Ness's name there was a new section titled Henchman, underneath that was Zelda's name, HP and MP bars ."Oh! So she's like a fourth party member?"

Ness nodded. "Yeah, an annoying-"

"We must evacuate the castle!" Shouted the NPC Zelda, cutting off Ness's sentence.

"...A very annoying fourth member..." He finished.

"Hurry!" She cried out this time.

Marth raised an eyebrow. "So why are henchman annoying? They shout out stupid phrases all the time?"

"We must evacuate the castle!"

Link sighed. "Well, yes, that is a bad point. But other then that... the AI on these things... well... let's just say it's not the best."

"Protect me!" Cried Zelda.

"Really?"

The Hylian nodded. "Yeah. I remember this one time when I talked the guild into doing a group activity... back when henchmen were needed to do certain quests..."

--

_"Hurry- ugh!" Sheik moaned as her body collapsed to the sandy desert floor. The monster she had just attacked let out a large roar and exploded into little bits of colors. The victory music rung out, but no one was cheering. That was because there were only three standing figures. One of them, Link, had all but three points of health remaining, however upon using his last maximum tomato, returned to perfect full health. Laying across the desert sand, each dead, where members of the guild SSBM, Ness, Sheik and Luigi. At Link's side there was a man in a robe holding a staff. He was a quest NPC, the person whom Sheik and the others had died protecting. He was busy charging up a portal that would lead them out of the world, and allow them to win this quest. Unfortunately, according to his HP bar, he was bleeding and very slowly losing the last of his life._

_Link's worried gaze shifted over to the other member. "Darn it! If he doesn't finish the portal, all our work will be for nothing!" He feel to his knees and began to beg. "Please, I know you can't here me, but please, please, please, please, if you're going to cast ONE cure this entire quest, please do it on him now!"_

_"Let's go on an adventure!" Replied the tall woman in pigtails. "Just because I'm a healer doesn't mean I can't hurt!"_

_"No! Please! No... Heal!" The man in the robe moaned and fell to one knee. "PLEASE!"_

_"I won't let you die!" _

_"Then save us!" Another few moments past and Link began to cry. All hope seemed lost._

_But then suddenly, a miracle happened in that hot desert area. The woman, forever grinning ear to ear, lifted her staff. Link's eyes widened in amazement as the tip of her staff sparkled. "Life Up Beta!" As the light blue aura faded, Link's hopeful eyes faded, and the man in the robe fell to the ground dead. "Let's go on an adventure!"_

_The world slowly returned to the inside of Katrina's tent, at which the cat NPC proudly announced they had failed the quest. "What happened?! How'd we lose?" Luigi asked, looking around._

_Slowly they each decided to read their in-game log, which bolded read:_

_**Healer Henchman heals Link for 130 HP**_

_--_

"Wow... that sucks." Marth said with a worried looked on his face. "And you're saying..."

"This Zelda here has the intelligence of a fly and the helpfulness of a newbie, thats what we're saying." Ness answered.

Marth chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well... then this should be interesting huh?"

"Protect me!"

"C'mon guys, we've waisted enough time here." Said Link, stepping towards the entrance of the room. "Remember, it's only the first sixteen teams who complete it that will get to move on! We've got to hurry!"

Link dashed out of the room, triggering a cut scene to begin playing. Zelda was now in front of the pack, walking slowly down the hall way while Link and his party followed closely behind. "This isn't good. The Gerudo forces are swarming the castle." She spoke, bring her hand to her chin. "If they breach our defenses..."

"Don't worry Princess." Was Link's programed response. "We're here to protect you and make sure you make it out of here. We won't let those creatures get you!"

Zelda smiled at Link, but gasped upon hearing another AI call out to her. "My Lady, behind you!" She turned around to see a Hyrulian Knight charging towards her, his sword brandish and preparing to strike her. Link quickly jumped in the way of the attack and with a quick thrust of his sword, the knight fell down defeated. From behind the knight, another guard was seen running up, this one without a weapon. "Oh, good, you killed him."

"What's going on here?" Zelda asked taking a few steps back to where Ness and Marth were waiting silently.

"Apparently, some of the creatures have managed to take control of our guards! They started a war inside the castle." Responded the knight.

Link scowled. "But who's going to guard the castle if you're fighting one another!"

The knight shook his head, then looked over at Zelda. "They're all over the castle. It's not safe to travel the normal corridors. Your best bet is to take the secret passages out of the castle. They may be longer, but there is a less likely chance of knights attacking you. We'll try to hold out as long as we can but... it seems that this is a dark day in the Kingdom of Hyrule..."

"Thank you, Sir Knight. We'll take it from here." Link replied with a nod. The knight nodded aswell and then ran back down the corridor. "Well then, Princess, I guess you should lead us down those secret passages huh?"

"Okay. The first one is a little ways down the hallway. Please lead the way, I'll tell you when we've reached it."

Their screens faded to black and within a few moments it returned to normal. The cut scene had ended and Link, Marth and Ness were free to move again. "Let's go!" Was all that was uttered by Link before the three of them took off down the hallway closely followed by their NPC Zelda. It was a straight path, lit only by torches, but soon it came to a larger room where the knight from the cut scene was seen laying on the floor. Surrounding his body where two other knights who charged at the group once they entered the room.

"Ah! They don't spawn like normal?" Marth asked as he blocked an attacking blade with his own. He pushed back on the knights blade and swung his sword, dealing 30 damage to the monster and decreasing it's HP by a fraction. "Uh-oh..."

"Of course not. PK Thunder Beta!" Ness shouted, shooting an orb of thunder at the knight Marth had weakened. It dealt more damage to the monster, but drew the beasts attention towards the psychic. "In a quest like this, all monster spawns are predetermined, nothing is-" He paused for a moment as Ness dodged the swinging blade of the knight. Ducking under the blade, Ness rolled under the monster and turned around, just in time to fire a PK Fire Alpha into the monster's back. The knight burned and was knocked down to the ground, giving Ness a few moments to move away. "...nothing is random, I mean." He finished.

Link locked swords with one of the knights and managed to knock the monster off its feet with a quick thrust of his sword. Once on the ground, Link took out his bow and fired three arrows directly into the knight's face, each strike dealing well over 50 damage. However, the knight's HP was far from depleted and it quickly stood back up and swung its blade at Link, knocking the Hylian across the room. Link's body fell to the floor and was stunned for a moment, giving the knight enough time to run over and slice him again with his blade. Link blocked the knight's third swipe with his shield however and was able to stand back up and deliver a quick jab to the Knight's chest. It recoiled in pain, moving back towards the other side of the chamber. "Ness!"

"Life Up Beta!"

Link's body was covered in the colorful aura of the healing spell, raising his HP back up to normal. "Thanks!" Link lifted his blade and charged once again at the knight, who was preparing himself for the attack on the Hylian.

Marth was fairing no better then Link. Each swipe of his sword was blocked by either the knight's own blade or dodged at the last second. "Geez, for a guy wearing heavy armor, you're pretty nimble..." He muttered as the monster managed to do a back flip out of the way of his last attack. "Darn... ah!" The Knight managed to bounce back at Marth quicker then he had thought, giving the monster a chance to strike Marth for a critical blow. Marth flew across the chamber and smashed into a wall. "Over... one hundred damage? Oh no, oh- wait..." Marth suddenly noticed that instead of his HP bar falling into near critical, it was instead only about half way depleted. "I'm stronger then normal!" Just then an orb of PK Thunder flew by Marth, smashing into the approaching knight.

"Weren't you paying attention? Stupid newbie..." Ness muttered as he moved into the corner of the chamber. He sat down and closed his eyes, the clue to the others that he was resting and regaining his MP.

"You have a level cap!" Link replied, slashing his knight vertically down it's body. "It means your stats and health are that of a level forty. It's a way-" Link ducked as the knight swung its blade. "...to make the event more fair."

"Oh yeah!" Marth exclaimed, suddenly remembering what Peach had announced before. "Alright then, this is awesome! As a level forty, I should have no problem taking you down!" Marth readied his sword and charged towards the knight. Their blades locked in a stalemate, but only for a moment, as the knight gave a quick thrust forward on his blade, knocking Marth's arm and sword into the air and leaving his chest wide open. The knight then jabbed the swordsman right in his upper torso, causing Marth's avatar to scream out in pain and Marth to fall backwards onto the ground. "Ow... okay I guess since I'm forty that means these monsters are as strong as level forties..."

"Marth, get up!" Link shouted and he delivered a strong blow to his knight. It didn't finish it off, but the knight's HP bar finally turned red. "You take double damage if you're on the floor!"

Marth attempted to get off the floor, however his avatar stumbled back down to the ground with a thud. As he fell, a current of yellow shot through his body, cuing an effect to start effecting his avatar. "What the- oh no, I'm paralyzed!"

"You're what?!" Ness shouted. The boy's eyes quickly shot open and he stood up off the floor and held out his hand towards Marth. "Life Up Beta! Recover!"

The blue haired swordsman's body was covered in two different colored auras, one of them restoring his HP to about half, the other removing his aliment. Marth stood up and brushed some dirt off his armor. "Thanks Ne-"

"Yaaaargha!"

Both Marth and Link let out gasps of shock upon seeing Ness's full HP bar dramatically drop to only about fifty points remaining. The psychic had been struck by the knight's sword for a major hit, dealing an extremely large amount of damage to the less protected boy. "Ness!" Marth cried out upon seeing the knight closing in for the kill. Apparently while he was immobile on the floor, the knight had made it's way over to the other side of the room and was preparing to finish off Ness. Marth started a mad dash towards the two, but it didn't look like he'd make it in time. The knight was already bringing down his blade onto to the boy for the kill. "Oh no!"

"Ya!"

There was a small explosion of fire at where the knight's chest was, knocking the monster away a few feet. Marth skidded to a stop and looked around confused. "What the? That wasn't a PK Fire, right?"

"Darn it, no... It was her!" Ness muttered as he stood up and ran to the opposite side of the room. Marth turned and saw that the knight's attention was now focused in on Zelda, who was standing by the entrance to the room, her hands covered in a faint red glow. The knight quickly stood up and charged over to the princess, who shouted another phrase of text and began to run around the room like a chicken without it's head. "Dumbass! Stop the monster!" Ness shouted at Marth.

Marth looked confused. "Can't she take care of herself?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Protect me! Hurry! We must evacuate the castle! Protect me!"

"If she dies, we _lose_! Why do you think these henchmen are so useless?! All they're good for is dying!"

"Protect me! I'm being manhandled! Protect me!" Cried the NPC in vain, as if shouting random phrases would protect her.

"Uh-oh!" Marth quickly raced off to intercept the knight and his target. But, like with Ness before, both the knight and Zelda were on the other side of the room. And the knight was closing in once again. It soon became clear to Marth that there was only one way his avatar could make it over there in time. "Darn it! Okay, time to use my power!" His blade began to glow a dark blue and his avatar shouted, "Dolphin Sl-" He stopped the attack however when a certain tunic wearing Hylian stepped in between him and the knight. "Link?"

Link slashed the knight from behind three times, then gave a quick thrust of his sword through the knight's back. It pierced the monster's body, causing it to cry out in pain for a moment and turn its attention away from the panicking Zelda NPC and back to Link once the sword was removed. The monster let out a low groan and swung its sword down at Link, to which he blocked with his shield and managed to take a step back at the knight recoiled. "Time to finish this then..." Spoke the Hylian, holding his blade out to the side. It began to flash a light gold color, as did the rest of Link's body. The monster moved in closer to attack Link, which was it's final mistake. Once it moved within range, Link's blade turned to a solid gold and the Hylian began to spin around in rapid circles. "Thssssaaa!" Shouted his avatar as he spun, dealing damage to the knight over and over with each pass of his blade until the knight exploded into tiny pieces of data. After about five spins, Link came to a stop and he fell to the ground, three birds fluttering around his head.

"It take it that means you're dizzy?" Marth asked, walking over to the fallen swordsman.

"Eh-heh..." Muttered the Hylian, standing up once the birds had disappeared. "And I take it you finished off the knight I was fighting?"

"What?!"

Marth spun around and prepared himself for combat. However, he turned back around after hearing Link chuckling to himself. "You okay Marth?" He asked after he finished giggling. "You seemed a bit off in that fight."

"Not off. He was just acting like a newbie!" Ness chimed in, crossing his arms in disgust. "Can't she take care of herself, pssh. Like an NPC is good for anything."

"Don't you think you should be healing yourself, Ness?" The psychic boy muttered something under his breath, but nodded at Link's question and sat down to begin the resting process.

"Heh... sorry if I was a bit off. I was just a bit overwhelmed by it all. NPCs, Level caps..." Explained Marth. "Don't worry, the next fight will be different!"

"Pssh..."

Link shot Ness a glare, but quickly returned his attention to Marth. With a smile he said, "Good! It's not that you weren't bad out there, just seemed a bit... clumsy is all. But not to worry, you'll do fine in the next battle. Which should be as soon as Ness finishes up resting."

"Shouldn't we rest too?" Marth asked. Link shook his head, causing the swordsman to raise an eyebrow.

"Didn't you notice the bar in the top left corner of your screen when you first entered the castle?"

--

Bar? What bar?

"It was empty at first, but now should be slightly filled up with red." Said Link.

I looked about my screen and noticed the bar he was talking about it. Up in the left corner, a small bar that didn't even reach a quarter of the way across the screen had magically appeared upon entering the castle. About half of it was now red, the other half was transparent. "Yeah, I see it. What does it do?"

"That's called an Adrenaline Gauge." Explained Link. I made Marth nod and he continued to explain. "You see, in events like this we all get adrenaline gauges that fill up as we all fight. For ever blow we land, or blow we take, our bar begins to fill up with some adrenaline. When the bar is completely full, we can become invincible for a short period of time." That sounds handy. "The bar is constantly going to be going up so long as we keep fighting. However, if we rest, the bar begins to decrease. So in events with the adrenaline gauge, its typical that the magic user rests and heals the melee users so their gauge's don't go down."

That's a neat trick. "Hmph, I'd heal melee classes like you Link, but what class does the newbie fall into? He can't fight to save his life!"

...I don't like him.

--

"Oh, quiet Ness. Marth is with us for this event and because of that, you've got to heal him. " Link said. He raised a finger and gave Ness a sly look. "Remember, it wasn't Marth who almost died in that last fight now was it?"

Ness growled to himself while Marth laughed. "Gr... Yeah, but who's fault was it that I almost died? Had I not healed him, he would've been toast!"

Link let out a fake gasp. "Oh! So you've healed Marth already? Then that must mean he's a melee class!" He turned to Marth and gave a huge smile. "Isn't this great Marth?! We found out what class you are! Hurray!" Both Ness and Marth groaned in unison as Link began to somehow throw confetti into the air over the amazing discovery.

--

Sheik stood atop a large mound of sand, staring out into the dark desert. She saw a few monsters roaming about, the left overs of a reckless party. But other then that, the desert was completely void of life. She closed her eyes and let out a loud sigh.

"Damn you and your fastness Sheik!" Sheik looked behind her to see Pit flopping down onto the stand, his avatar panting for breath. "I had to use like thirty bunny hoods just to keep up with your dust. Man, assassins run fast."

Sheik turned her attention away from the angel and sighed once more. "He's not here." She said quietly, crossing her arms. "He told me to meet him atop this very sand dune... and he's not here."

Pit sat up and crossed his legs. "You sure it was thisone? I mean, they all kinda do look exactlythe same, you know."

"I guess to someone like you, they would."

The archer looked up at Sheik with an intense glare. "And what is _that _suppose to mean?"

"As an assassin, you spend alot of time in this area. For your job quest." She explained, not once opening her eyes. "Atleast a good few hours, in real life time. You get to know what each sand dune looks like. And since Dr. Mario is half assassin, I'm sure he's learned to both love and loathe this area by heart."

Pit rolled his eyes. "I guess some things must be traded for speed like that. I mean-"

"If you want to stay alive, I'd advise you not to finish that sentence."

The angel looked as if he was pondering his choices, but in the end kept his mouth shut and joined Sheik in staring out into the emptiness of the desert. After about two minutes of silence, he spoke up, "So, are we just going to wait here then? I don't think we should. I have a feeling this was just some sorta trick Dr. Mario pulled on us... maybe so we didn't partake in the event today."

Sheik was about to answer when a whisper shooting across her screen caused her to snap back to the task at hand. "...Just got a whisper from Dr. Mario. Apparently, he ran into some friends."

"Friends? He has friends?"

"Your intelligence reaches new heights every day, Pit." Sheik muttered, closing her eyes and sighing. Pit gave another glare and stood up. "No. Bounty hunters. He was clumsy and every newbie bounty hunter in the server is trying to kill him for his bounty. Don't those idiots know that if I can't take him down, no one can?"

Pit chuckled. "Oh yes, because you are so the alpha male of bounty hunting, right?"

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!"

Sheik anger didn't last long. She quickly jumped from the dune, shouting back at Pit to follow her again. After a few groans from the angel, he too jumped off the dune and the two of them were off once again, chasing down the infamous PKer.

--

"Damn it! These things just won't die!" Marth growled as he sliced another knight monster down it's center. The beast fell backwards a bit, but quickly regained its balance and charged forward. Marth ducked down as the knight swung it's blade, the sword narrowly missing the top of Marth's head. The Knight moaned in anger and was preparing to strike again when Marth quickly shot up from the floor of the castle, his blade glowing a bright blue. "Dolphin Slash!" His avatar cried, the blade cutting directly through the knight as he jumped into the air. Marth landed gracefully behind the monster and turned around just in time to watch it explode into pieces of data. "Finally... but how many more do we have to go through till we reach this secret passage?"

Link too was fighting one of the knights, and his was near death also. The Hylian jabbed the knight two more times with his blade before jumping into the air and doing a flip over the wounded knight. Once landing on the other side, he took out his bow and fired one single shot right into the knight's back, dealing a major hit and causing it to exploded into data as well. "Not sure." Link replied putting his bow away as he walked over to Marth. "Ness, do you remember any of this from the first time?"

"Hurry! Protect me!"

"Not really, no. This is different then before." Ness answered. "It's weird. Peach used the same core idea, but made small differences which make it seem like a whole new challenge. However... I have a feeling that the entrance should be up just one more room."

Link nodded in agreement. "Yeah I have that hunch too. So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The group moved out of the chamber they were in and into another long hallway. They raced down this one, which was an exact copy of the one before, and soon came into an identical room where the party had faced the knight monsters before. This time, however, instead of two knights waiting for them, there was one. And this one was different - he wore red armor that looked decorated royally. He had no helmet, so they could see he was an older Hylian with a beard and long flowing blonde hair. His sword was about twice as long as the other knights and he was holding it with ease in just his right hand. "What's that?" Marth whispered as he came into clear vision.

As soon as they entered the room, the screen went black and another cut scene began to play. Zelda took the lead and raced into the room, stopping about midway between the group and this new foe. "Herald!" She shouted, placing a hand on her chest. "Herald, what are you doing here?!"

Herald turned away from them and began to groan and moan. The rest looked on helplessly as a dark aura surrounded the knight and completely tainted the NPC, turning his armor into a deep black. When Herald turned back around, his eyes were now longer crystal blue, but dark crimson. "I'm sorry, my princess." He spoke in a disconnected voice. "But someone must die so that our gods may live!"

Herald lifted his sword and charged forward at Zelda, who stood helplessly in the center of the chamber. Zelda let out one loud scream of fear just as the cutscene ended and they were returned to the game. However, when they returned, the party noticed something. Instead of being able to run into battle, Herald was still charging, and Zelda was still standing helplessly in the middle chamber. "Oh no!" Marth cried. They were too far away, they'd never reach Zelda before Herald did.

"If he hits her, she'll-" Link was cut off by Zelda's ear piercing scream. Herald had reached the NPC and was bringing his blade down onto the princess.

"PSI SHIELD GAMMA!"

Just as Zelda screamed, her body was covered in a light yellow circle. Herald's sword smashed down not onto Zelda, but into this circle, causing it to exploded a moment later. The force of the blow was so great, however, that Zelda was sent flying backwards across the room and smashing into a wall near the trio. 400 DAM appeared above her head, and her HP was rapidly decreasing. However, Zelda in total had 450HP. So while she was greatly wounded, it was not fatal. Herald groaned up seeing his attacked had failed and was preparing to charge at the trio now.

"That's incredible!" Link said in awe. "He's so strong... had that shield not been put up..." Marth too was in shock. He glanced behind to see Ness holding out his hand as the spell action concluded.

"I remember **that** part at least." Ness said with a grin, turning to heal the fallen NPC. "Good thing I remembered I could use that skill, huh? Life Up Beta!"

Herald gave a monstrous roar and bounded down the room towards the two. Link and Marth both positioned themselves in between Herald and Zelda, preparing to fight the on coming boss. "Hey, Ness, don't mean to bother but how about you cast a shield or two on us?" Link asked, preparing to move in.

"PSI Shield Beta!" Ness cried, casting a blue ring around the Hylian. The boy then turned to Marth and called out, "PSI Shield Alpha!" Around Marth a red ring of light appeared, much to the swordsman's distaste.

"Why do I get the the weaker one?!" He complained.

Ness rolled his eyes and pointed to where he the team status bars were on the screen. "'Cause, newbie, I need to heal the NPC and you guys! But hey, if it's weaker that just means don't screw up!"

Marth growled at the boy but was quickly called to attention by Link. Herald was upon them, and he was preparing to bring his huge sword down onto both of their skulls. "Ready... dodge!" Link cried. He and Marth both rolled to the sides as Herald brought his huge sword smashing down onto the floor. The two swordsmans rolled around Herald, standing up behind the huge knight back to back. "Attack on three. Ready, one, two..."

Before Link and Marth could jump in and attack, Herald spun around with his sword and struck both of them dead on with one quick swipe. The two let out yelps of pain and were sent tumbling across the floor. Link's HP was reduced to about 230, while Marth's fell to about 120, and his shield was shattered. "Damn, this guy is fast!" Marth muttered as he stood back up. "How the heck can we beat him?"

Link used his sword for balance as his avatar stood back up. He lifted his sword, readied his shield and thought. "Hmm... how far along if your adrenaline gauge?"

"Almost full. Yours?"

"Mine is full... okay, we'll have to get yours completely filled up then!"

Herald charged at the duo with a roar, his sword raised above his head. Just as he closed in on them, Ness cried out from behind, "Life Up Gamma! Life up Beta!"

Marth and Link's bodies were covered in red and light blue auras as Ness's powerful healing spells restored a good deal of them life. Unfortunately, these spells were so strong that it attracted the attention of Herald. The knight turned it's back once again to Link and Marth and started to head back over towards Ness. "Now! Marth, let's go!"

Link charged forward, his blade erupting in beautiful gold light. Marth quickly followed, his own blade glowing blue. The two ran at full speed, catching up to Herald and attacked. Link went in first, jumping into the air and bringing his blade down vertical through Herald's back, slicing a clear path through his armor. Herald shouted in pain, falling forwards in recoil as the monster's HP bar severely dropped. Marth followed up his attack, quickly springing up from the ground and slicing Herald in the opposite direction of Link, jumping up into the air and bringing his sword with him, cutting through the knight. After both Link and Marth landed, Herald roared once again and turned around, swinging his blade recklessly at the duo. Link managed to dodge this one, but Marth was struck dead on by the oncoming blade.

"Ugh!" Moaned his avatar, skidding across the floor. Luckily for Marth, he was only hit by the point of the blade and the damage was much less then before.

Link stood back up and glanced behind to find out where Marth had landed. "Marth, are you-" Link barely had time to glance behind him before Herald swung his sword down directly on Link. The Hylian blocked it however by raising his own sword, the two blades of metal clashing in the air, simulated sparks flying as they each fought for dominance. And Link was quickly losing. "Damn it, I knew I should have put more points into stamina last level up. Argh!"

Herald continued to push his blade down onto Link. But the Hylian was proving to be much more resistant to his attack then the NPC first computed. So, with Herald's free hand, the huge knight delivered a punch right into Link's gut. This attack dealt only about 30 damage to the swordsman, but it caused his avatar to become winded for a moment. And that moment was a moment too long, Herald finished the blow by slashing Link directly down his body with his huge sword. Link's avatar screamed in pain and flew backwards, over where Marth had landed and crashed into the side of the wall. Ness's shield exploded and Link's HP dropped to only 80. Herald couldn't help but chuckle as he moved in closer to the two weakened swordsman, his blade prepared for a kill.

"Link! Oh no!" Ness cried. "Damn it, I don't have enough MP..." The psychic reached into his pocket and pulled out a rod shaped item with a star on the tip of it. "I guess I have no choice but to use a recovery item..."

"Protect me!" Ness glanced over to Zelda and his face was quickly filled with fear as he noticed the NPC version of their friend was now standing up and, infact, charging head first into battle. "I'm being manhandled!" Was the last line she shouted before she left the protection around Ness.

"YOU STUPID THING YOU, GET BACK HERE!" Screamed the boy at the top of his lungs. When it was obvious the NPC couldn't understand Ness, he gripped the star rod tightly, causing it to exploded into bits of colorful dust. These bits of dust floated into Ness's body, and his MP went from near empty is about more then half full. As soon as the dust disappeared, the boy chased after the NPC.

Herald's AI must have noticed either Ness's yelling or Zelda's footsteps, as he quickly spun around once Zelda was in a certain range. Zelda's hands began to glow a faint red color as she neared. As she crossed her arms across her chest, the red glow became so bright, her hands could no longer be seen. "We must evacuate the castle!" She screamed, flinging her arms forward. As she did, three orange-red orbs shot from her hands and flew directly towards Herald. The monster didn't seem to be too threatened by the orbs, he simply lifted his left arm to block the orbs. All three of Zelda's magical attacks exploded upon contact with his armor and did very little damage to Herald's already damaged HP bar.

But that didn't stop Zelda from continuing her dash towards the knight. She ran right up to where Herald was standing and held out her right hand. From her palm, sparkles starting shooting out, zapping the knight for almost 10 damage a pop. She managed to do this atleast three times before Herald was able to lift his sword over his head and prepare to slice the henchman into two. Luckily for her though, Ness had just arrived within casting range. "PSI Shield Beta!" He cried. A blue circle of energy shot around the Princess just before the blade slashing into her head. The blue ring exploded upon contact with the blade and the NPC was once again sent flying backwards across the room, her HP dropping dramatically.

"Protect me..." Was the last words Zelda muttered before her character became too wounded to move.

"Phew, good, saved her..." Said Ness after he made sure her avatar wasn't turing gray. "But now..." He looked back forwards and up at the giant Hylian standing infront of him, his sword pointed directly at the little boy's huge head. "...Uh-oh..."

On the other side of the room, Marth and Link's avatars finally had enough strength to stand up. "Marth... we need to use a maximum tomato. Ness is in trouble!" Link commanded, taking out one of the red fruit/vegetables he just mentioned.

Marth nodded with his Hylian friend and he too reached for a tomato... only to find he had none. "...Uhhh..."

"You forgot to get them, didn't you..." Link muttered as he stood up, his HP returning to about seventy-five percent.

Marth began laughing nervously. "N-No, not that its just uhh... my item list is so confusing and long-"

"Don't you stack items?"

"Wha?"

Link sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. Here!" He reached into his pocket and tossed Marth a tomato, which exploded mid flight. The pieces of dust it exploded into flew over to Marth and into his body, healing his wounds and raising his HP bar. "We have no time to waste!"

"PK Rockin' Gamma!"

The entire room began to shake, nearly knocking the two swordsman off their feet. "What that... Ness? Is he doing this?" Marth asked. The room began to grow darker and darker as Ness's body grew brighter and brighter and started to float up into the air. The once the little psychic was completely cover in light, he held out his hand and his avatar let out another loud scream. All of the light around his body start to fly towards Herald in the shapes of small rectangles. As they soared, the white rectangles turned green and they smashed in Herald with incredible force. The monster groaned and moaned in pain as they pummeled his body, and Heralds HP bar was steadily decreasing. "Woah... thats-"

"Watch it Marth!"

Ness's attack was producing so many of the green rectangles that many were infact missing Herald all together and flying directly towards the two swordsmen standing behind the monster. Link and Marth both dashed off in different directions, each performing odd acrobatics to try and avoid Ness's friendly fire. Link slipped up for a moment one time and was hit by a passing rectangle, dealing about 80 damage to the Hylian. After that mistake, neither one of them took any more chances and dodged their way over to opposites sides of the room, far out of the reach of the blast. Once the rectangles stopped, two beams of light shot out from the air and slashed across Herald's chest. Both strikes dealt well over one hundred damage and caused the monster is holler in pain at the attack.

Soon afterwards, Ness's body ceased glowing and he fell back down to the ground with a thud. Ness's HP was weakened, and his MP would have been as well had he had any left over from the attack. "Man... I can't wait till I can use the omega version of that..." He muttered before the avatar collapsed in exhaustion.

With the attack over, Marth and Link raced back to where they were standing prior to their dodging. Where Herald once stood there was nothing but a billowing pillar of smoke. The area around seemed to be completely destroyed thanks to Ness's amazing blast. "Did he finish that monster off?" Marth wondered, taking a step forward.

"Looks like it... Way to go Ness!"

Ness couldn't help but smirk a bit at Link's compliment, but it didn't last long. Neither did Link's cheerfulness.

"Wait, hang on."

The smoke finally disappeared and there, standing in a crater looking perfectly fine was Herald. Marth and Link grimaced up seeing the figure take a step out of the crater and turn back towards them, but Marth's face quickly lit up when he saw Herald's HP bar. "Look! It only has like fifty more hit points to go!" Pointed out the blue haired swordsman.

Link didn't seem all that excited though. And Herald just then showed why. A light red outline appeared around Herald's body. It only lasted for a moment or so, but after it disappeared, Marth's mouth dropped and Link let out an angry growl. "See?"

"It... It can heal itself?!" Shouted Marth, pointing to Herald's now quarter filled health bar.

Link nodded. "Yeah, its a game fail safe. Whenever monsters take over a certain amount of damage from one attack, if their HP isn't completely gone, they will recover a bit after the attack ends."

"So Ness did all that for nothing..."

"No, just look. It's only twenty five percent filled. Ness greatly weakened it." Herald began to march towards the two swordsman, who prepared themselves for battle once again. "It's up to us to finish it..."

--

"Sheik, are you sure he said to meet him here?" Pit wondered out loud. "I mean... c'mon, I don't even think he can tell the difference between this dune and that dune."

Pit and Sheik were now standing in the shadow of a different sand dune. However, unlike the last one that was located in the middle of the desert, right above this sand dune was the edge of a small cliff. "Yes, I'm sure Pit. So why don't you just make a sand castle or something while we wait. Or make yourself useful and stay quiet." Sheik answered, crossing her arms.

Pit rolled his eyes and sat down on the sand. "Well maybe I will. And I'll have a big house warming party for my new sand castle and all my friends will be invited. Except for you, that is."

"Has anyone ever told you how much like a little kid you sound sometimes?"

"Once or twice."

Sheik couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle. "Really? ...So how old are you really?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Heh. Children."

Sheik turned her attention away from the bored archer and back up at the sky. Her thoughts were quickly ruined however by the sound of a player lightly touching down behind the dune they were resting near. Just as Sheik turned around Pit let out a muffled yelp of surprise. Sheik was met face to face with Dr. Mario, who had snuck up from behind and caught Pit in a head lock, his knife pointing directly at the angel's neck. "My, my. You really did come, I'm so impressed." Dr. Mario said with a cold grin. "And look, you even brought your little mule boy. How touching."

Sheik put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "He's not my mule, but why don't you just let him. We both know he's of no trouble to you."

Dr. Mario laughed quietly to himself before letting the archer go. Pit's avatar quickly gripped his neck, then turned around to face Dr. Mario. "You stupid idiot! Why don't next time you try that coming at me head on instead of behind my back you coward!"

"Please, like it'll have any different results."

Pit broke his bow into two daggers and pointed one right at Dr. Mario's face. "Why you-... Are you forgetting our last fight?!"

"And how badly I beat you? How could I forget!"

Pit prepared his blades and was about to jump into the air when all of a sudden;

"PIT!" The archer stopped mid attack and turned around to look at Sheik. "Come on Pit. We don't have time for this, you and I both know Dr. Mario is too tough for you. So just settle down."

With a low growl, Pit turned away from Sheik and looked back at Dr. Mario. "Hmph, you're lucky." He muttered, transforming his blades back into his bow. Dr. Mario smirked as he put away his bow and marched back over to Sheik defeated. "You know, you're being alot colder then normal today, Sheik."

Sheik didn't reply. Instead she took a step forward and kept eye contact with the assassin infront of them. "So, why did you call me out here?" She asked, her voice filled with command.

Dr. Mario chuckled again. "Well, I-"

"I think I saw him go down over here!"

The healer's eyes shot wide open upon hearing the player's voice. He looked upwards to see seven shadows looming over the edge of the cliff, all peering down at the dune where the three were hidden. Sheik quickly took notice of these players as well and tossed a small ball over near Dr. Mario's feet. The assassin looked down just in time to see it exploded into smoke, covering his body completely. Pit was completely taken by surprise at his friends actions. "Sheik, what are you-"

Sheik cut him off by tossing another one of the balls down by his feet and then one down at her own. They exploded in unison, the smoke billowing up and covering both of them. The smoke lasted for only a few moments, but when it finally blew away, all three of them had vanished.

And not a moment too soon, as just then, the five Axem Rangers, Prince Peasley and Jody Summers all jumped down off the cliff and landed in the area where they three had just been talking. "Darn it, I swear I saw him come down here!" Pink muttered, looking around at the empty field. "He must have gotten away."

"Or you were just seeing things you pathetic excuses for a bounty hunter!" Shouted Peasley, crossing his arms in a huff.

Black quickly defend Pink. "Oh quiet you pretty boy, the fact that YOU'RE even fighting is beyond me! I mean, what happens if your avatar breaks one of it's nails? Oh no, a tragedy!"

"Yes it would!" The prince retorted. He held up his right hand and pointed to each nail with his left. "I spent good money in the online store to get my avatar these and I'll be damn if they break because I'm in the vicinity of you ruffians! You just don't know how to appreciate the little thing call style."

Jody Summers was getting visibly fed up with the entire fight. "You wouldn't know style if it bit you on your small green ass, you idiot!" She shouted, punching the Prince on his head. "I mean come on, look at you! What are you, a frog?! And now thanks to you guys and your bumbling, I lost my bounty!"

"What?! How dare you, you vile wench! And for the record, he was _mine_!"

Yellow couldn't help but put into the conversation. "Sorry you two, but we saw him first, so if he's anyone, he's ours!"

After that it was all hell broken lose. Yellow, Black, Green, Pink, Jody and Peasley all shouting back and forth, each claiming that Dr. Mario was theirs, the other bounty hunters are nothing compared to them, and, at times, discuss how badly certain players among them clashed with their armor. The only remaining calm was Axem Red, who clearly couldn't remain calm for much longer. "ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!" After he shouted, immediately everyone stopped their bickering. "Now listen here, it doesn't matter who the best bounty hunter is, or who has the worst armor, or even who Dr. Mario's bounty belongs too. Are any of you guys here JUST for the reward?" They all remained silent. "See?! We all want the title of taking down the most famous PKer! So why don't we just shut up and work together, and all become legendary heros who teamed up to finish off this guy off, okay?!"

They all glanced at one anyone, each most likely considering the options. "But-"

"NO BUTS!" Axem Red shouted, cutting off Peasley. "Either yes, or no. You can choose. Right now, I suggest we spilt up and search. Dr. Mario couldn't have gotten too far. Let's meet back at the oasis in a half hour. If you find Dr. Mario before then, call us and we'll come fight. If you don't want to help us, then whatever, just go on your way. But I'm going to be a hero tonight, and thats that. So peace."

Red turned and ran off in a different direction, constantly searching left and right for any signs of the PKer. The others remained in their spot afterwards, all exchanging uneasy glances with one another. But moment later, they each nodded to one another and too ran off in different directions, each searching for their target. After the group of bounty hunters had cleared the area, the empty spots of where Dr. Mario, Sheik and Pit were once standing began to distort. A moment later, the three took a step out from the distortion, returning the calm area of the desert back to normal.

"Hahaha, nice timing on that Sheik." Dr. Mario cackled, lifting his knife. "I was just about ready to start fighting again, but that certainly was a smooth move. I guess I should say thanks, but we both know that's not my style."

"I only did it to save time. Normally, I'd rather enjoy you getting beat up by a bunch of newbies." Replied the assassin with a smirk, though they couldn't really make it out. "And what a bunch they were. If there is anyone who will claim your bounty, it's going to be **me**."

"Yes, and if there is anyone who might have the talent to defeat me, there is just a slim chance it could be you. Of course, I still want the pleasure of being the one to take you down."

Sheik chuckled to herself. "Then it seems we're on the same wave link here."

Pit's eyes darted back and forth between the two assassin, followed by a quiet moan. "Hey, if you two are done secretly respecting one another, I'd like to get on with this meeting! Not that I don't trust you, well, I don't, but I'd rather just find out what we were called for and get out of here before anything like last time happens."

"Yeah, enough wasting time. What is it you called us out here to tell us?"

Dr. Mario giggled slightly. "Well, it's not that important, really. But I thought you'd like to know that Ganondorf has joined The Warlocks."

Pit looked somewhat surprised while Sheik didn't flinch at all. "Old news. If thats all you wanted to tell me then you've wasted your time."

"Old news? Really?" Pit asked surprised. "Wow... I never thought Ganondorf was a hacker... geez."

The healer shrugged. "Oh, sorry. I thought you'd be interested to know. But if you know that I guess I should just leave..." He turned away and took one step before he stopped and looked back to Sheik. "Did you really think thats all I wanted to tell you?"

"Then spill it!" Pit commanded.

"I don't have to answer to Sheik's little lapdog."

"Why you!"

Sheik sighed and stepped in between Pit and Dr. Mario. "Just tell us. I'm sure we both have important things we need to get back too."

"Very well." Dr. Mario turned around to face the assassin once more and began to explain. "Ganondorf has recently joined The Warlocks, this you know, but you see; he joined under on odd condition. He is forcing Bowser into letting him partake in the upcoming team tournament. What's odder is that Bowser is foolishly letting him have his way and is planning to give him a full team of his best hackers."

The Hylian assassin let out a low grunt and closed her eyes. "I already knew that."

Pit looked completely taken by surprise that Sheik had known so much. Dr. Mario also looked pretty surprised at first, but quickly returned his normal, evil grinning state. "My, my. Sheik, whoever your source is must-" The healer only paused for a second, in which his eyes shot open in horror. A moment later, he had both of his knives up and ready for the attack, and his avatar assumed fighting position. Pit quickly responded to this by taking out his bow and pointing it at the assassin, an arrow glowing in between the string and his fingers. Sheik, however, stood completely calm, not even reaching for her needles.

"Relax. Are you familiar with Mewtwo?" Asked Sheik. Dr. Mario didn't reply, he kept his weapons up and body poised for attack. "He's been the one telling me this information. Apparently, your friend Blade isn't the best at keeping secrets. Don't worry, I haven't gotten any information from other Warlocks. None of them know about these meetings."

At first, he still remained in his battle position. However, after Sheik remained still for another minute or so, Dr. Mario lowered his weapons and left combat mode. Pit waited a few moments before doing the same, putting away his bow once more. "Sorry about that. It's just hard to completely trust someone who's been hunting you for months." Spoke the healer, rubbing his wrists. "Although I'm not surprised about Blade. Boy always was a chatter box."

"So is there anything else you want to tell us, or was that it?"

Dr. Mario nodded. "I have one more bit. You see, at first, I was confused at why Bowser would waste his time going through with whole team tournament thing. But then I did a bit of research on the back story of this game. I'm sure you know it, right?" Sheik didn't answer. "Right. Anyway, the Gerudo King, whom Ganondorf's avatar is based off of, apparently was very important in the defeat of Master Hand. In the back story, in the Gerudo Desert, the Gerudo King met with the chosen heros and used his power to clear out the area, the Tomb of the Forgotten. It was in this area that the group learned about the ways to defeat Master Hand - through the use of the Smash Ball."

"Go on."

"So what I believe is that Bowser is trying to gain Ganondorf's trust as a way to get him to maybe find this Tomb of the Forgotten in this game? I'm sure the power they speak of in the story can be his Final Smash. If Ganondorf completely trusts Bowser, then if the turtle asks the guy to do anything, like a good puppy he'll follow."

Sheik didn't seem all too thrilled. "And your point?"

Dr. Mario put his hands in his pockets and laughed. "I just thought you'd like to know that Bowser is taking this special intreats. Maybe want to enter the tournament yourself to get Ganondorf on your side, or something."

"Already considered the options, but in the long run, I believe the answer will be no."

The healer looked confused. "What do you mean already considered? Did you know all that about Ganondorf already? No... you couldn't have." Sheik didn't respond. "Tell me, Sheik! We made a deal to share information. I've shared, now it's your turn."

She once again remained silent. "Good Sheik, don't tell him whatever it is you know!" Pit cheered from the side lines. "He doesn't need to know our business... although I'd sure like to know what's going on!"

After a few minutes of an intense staring contest, Sheik finally nodded and began to talk. "You see, SSBM was challenged to a guild war between us and SSBB. However, Mewtwo suggested turning it into a battle during the upcoming team tournament. I asked him why he'd change it like that, and he told me about Ganondorf and how entering the tournament would likely win him over to our side. I told him I'd let Zelda know when she returned from this event of hers, and in the end she does have the final say. But as of now, I official say that SSBM will not be partaking in the tournament. We have far too short of time to waste on hunches or dealing with this tournament to try and win over someone who's chances of joining are still up in the air. It's risky and all the good is heavily outweighed by that."

"Oh-ho, really?" Dr. Mario said, suddenly becoming more interested. "But you must understand, it's Zelda who has the last say on that topic. What if she agrees to it?"

"Trust me, Zelda and I pretty much think with the same mind. If I don't think it's a good idea, she'll think it's not a good idea. That's just the way the two of us have always been." With a sigh, Dr. Mario nodded at Sheik. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"No, that's it..."

Sheik turned around and began to walk back towards Pit. "Alright then. We'll be on our way."

"So there is nothing that can convince you to enter the tournament?"

The Hylian paused in her tracks. "...What do you mean?"

"I mean, even if I'm going to be on Ganondorf's team?"

Sheik didn't answer at first. She just stood there, staring off pass Pit into the seemingly endless desert. "...I'll consider it. Let's go, Pit. Put on your bunny hood."

Not a moment later, Sheik burst out into a mad dash across the desert, leaving only a cloud of smoke and sand behind her. "But Sheik, I'm out of bunny hoods!" Pit cried in vain. His wings quickly fluttered into action and away he went aswell, leaving only Dr. Mario alone there, a sly smile creeping across his face.

--

Marth did another graceful backflip out of the way of Herald's huge sword. "Darn, I don't know how much longer we can just keep dodging him Link! We need to fight back!"

Herald charged towards Link and Marth, who were preparing themselves for the monster's next strike. "I know, on three. One... three!"

The two swordsmen charged at Herald, who swung his sword down to try and hit the two oncoming warriors. At the last second however, Link and Marth both raised their swords in time, causing Herald's huge blade to collide with the two of theirs. The three remained locked in that position for only a moment, for Herald's stats were far beyond any of theirs. The monster gave a quick push with his blade and both Link and Marth were sent flying backwards again, slamming into the floor and taking around 50 damage a piece.

Herald's computerized voice cackled maliciously as he closed in on the two swordsmen who were struggling to stand back up. Marth let out a slight whimper as the monster began his approach. "Man, for a mini boss this guy is so tough! Not even together could we hold back his blade! No wonder this event is so infamous..."

"This is no good. We can't beat him like this. The only way is with the adrenaline gauge." Link said standing back up. "Marth, where is your bar at? It has to be almost done right?"

"It's at about ninety percent..." Replied the blue haired swordsman as he too stumbled to his feet.

"Alright then... we're just going to have to keep on fighting till it fills up!" Link bent his knees slightly, causing his blade to glow the rich golden color again. "Ready for another attack?"

Marth smirked and did the same, resulting in his sword glowing a dark blue. "Ready as I'll ever be!"

"On three... you know, forget it! Let's GO!"

The two charged towards Herald, their swords blazing in color as they went, ready and hoping that this next attack would be this monstrous knight's last.

CONTINUE...?


	20. LOGIN 19

Disclaimer: Is Smash Bros mine? I wish. Nope. I don't own anything related to it. Everything is owned by their respected companies, Nintendo, SEGA, Konami, Hudson, whatever. Enjoy!

A/N: Hello everyone :D

YES I'm alive.

At first, I planned to update after it had been one month.

However, with finals and papers needing to attend too, I had to push it back a little bit more.

Summer is almost here, so hopefully I'd be able to finish this part of the story :D! YEY!

We all enjoying brawl? I played it, love it and now I live it. My friend code should be up in my profile now so if you wanna have a brawl just send me a message! So what's your favorite part about it? I personally loved the scene where Meta Knight sees Great Fox shooting his ship and he's all "..." And then he sees the Ice Climbers all jumpy. And then he's all "..." and jumps up the mountain. And then Popo is all like, "Oh-no he didn't!" and then they chase each other.

And then for some reason, when watching the Ice Climbers fall off the mountain I couldn't help but hear them scream, "Is that all we doooooo...?"

Seriously.

That was great...

Enough Ice Climber rambles.

I want them to come out with a real cross over game (meaning it's sorta like... Kingdom Hearts.) so they can devote an entire game to just that instead of just that one player (I hated the one player. The only reason I played through it was to get the characters and to see... THE R.O.B. You know, cause there are hundreds of them, but there is only one THE R.O.B.)

Also I'd like to thank everyone for voting in the poll. With a total of 11 votes, I'm pleased to inform everyone it was a close race but I now have villians to appear in a later chapter. Thank you all! The results should be up if you wanna see who won.

One final note, I've decided to break up SSBO into 3 different stories.

I figured that, if I didn't, this story would become extremely long (I'm guessing far over 60 chapters) and personally, I'd rather keep each it low.

I had originally wanted to make this story 5 parts - One for each server they went too.

But I figured that'd make them too short. So now its going to be each story will focus around 2 servers, save the last one which will focus more on the dramatic twists D:

We still have a few more chapters to go, and I'll let everyone know when the final chapter of the first story will be.

By the way, everyone go listen to Lucas's sound test number 27.

That should be what you scream upon finishing this chapter.

Well that was certainly a long note. More like a blog.

Farwell until the next time we meet.

I'll be chatting with the Popotan.

--

Dragon's Return's is totally stressing over finals (In March).

Comment? Rate? WUL? Report?

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #19: Attack on the Castle! - Part 2**

--

-Event Hyrule Castle-

Weakened to the point of near death, Ness rested against the wall of the chamber, watching helplessly as Herald prepared its next assault on the two swordsmen he was too crippled to assist. "Tssk... C'mon guys, take him down... I don't want to be stuck here forever." He whispered so as they couldn't hear. "I know you can do it."

"We must evacuate the castle!"

Ness looked over to his side to see the weakened Zelda slowly standing to her feet, obviously preparing to charge back into battle. But with a quick crack of his bat/staff, Zelda fell limp back down at his side, knocked out cold. "Dumb NPC..."

Back on the battlefield, Marth and Link were barely managing to keep their HP bars in the safety zone as Herald laid one intense attack upon after another. Link's avatar cried out in pain as he recoiled from the knight's latest attack, to which Marth charged in and tried his hand at battling the knight. The same results as before, Marth struck Herald across his chest which dealt a small amount of damage, but the knight took no notice and swung its sword across Marth, sending him soaring backwards across the chamber. Marth's HP started to decline, but it stopped and recovered itself after Link used a maximum tomato on the swordsman.

"You've got to be done by now, right?!" Link shouted to his friend as the two stood up from the ground. "I mean, it's been a few minutes!"

Marth glanced over at his adrenaline bar. "It looks like it's ninety-five percent done!" Marth called back.

The Hylian sighed. "Man, it either fills up too quickly or it never fills up when you want it..."

Link's attention was quickly pulled back to the attacking monster, who was about to cut the little swordsman to pieces. However Link quickly dodged and rolled to the right of Herald, pulling out his bow and shooting two quick arrows into Herald's right leg. They disappeared a moment later, but the damage reduced his HP bar to about ten percent. The beast-knight was almost dead, but that ten percent was still a long way away. Herald gaze followed Link to the right, giving Marth the chance to charge at the monster and strike him in his side with a Dolphin Slash. Roaring, Herald used his free hand to punch Marth away before continuing his pursuit of the Hylian, who was now moving to get away.

Preparing himself for the upcoming attack, Link raised his shield and braced himself for the blow. It came only a moment later, Herald's blade smashing down onto his shield with so much force, Link lost a small amount of HP, falling into dangerously low levels. "Uh-oh! Uhh, Marth! Ness! Someone, I need help!"

Marth heard his friends cries and charged over to Herald, slicing his sword down the knight's arm. The blade passed right through and did some damage, but more importantly drew Herald's attention back to the blue haired swordsman. Herald roared and his blade began to glow, showing that he was about to land a critical hit if Marth did not dodge. And although Marth tried his best to avoid the sword, Herald's speed proved too much for the swordsman to predict and he was struck dead on with a hit that dealt over 300 damage.

"MARTH!" Link shouted, watching his friend fall to the ground. Now, Marth had recovered a decent amount of HP from the last tomato, but he wasn't at full health. And after that last attack, Marth's HP fell drastically to only sixteen health points remaining. Herald's AI may not have been the brightest, but it knew when it was time to make the kill. It completely turned its attention away from Link and started lumbering over to the player struggling to get off the floor. "Damn it!" The Hylian reached behind him and pulled out his bow once again. This time he managed to shoot three arrows in Herald's back. Though he lost some HP, it wasn't enough to gain the monsters arggo back to him.

"Life Up Beta!" Both Herald and Link's attention was called behind them to see Ness standing up with his hand reaching out towards the fight. "Life Up Beta!" He shouted again, healing the falling swordsman once more. He then turned to face Link and cast some more spells, "Life Up Beta! PSI Shield Alpha!" With that, the boy fell to the ground, his eyes tightly closed. What small MP he had regained while resting before was already gone and he was once again completely defenseless.

While the knight's AI was decent, it wasn't good. The healing quickly gained the attention of Herald, causing the beast to completely change directions and barrel down the chamber towards the wounded psychic. "Ness!" Link cried, running after the monster. "Not good, he can't defend himself... Hang on buddy!"

Marth weakly pulled himself to his feet, glancing over to see Herald and Link charging towards Ness. "Ness..." He muttered before he too joined in the race to the psychic.

Though Ness in the game had his eyes closed, Ness the player could see perfectly well that Herald was charging directly for him and his large head. So, instead of resting, he stood and prepared himself for the confrontation. "PSI Shield... wait, darn... I don't have enough MP..." He muttered, looking over at Zelda in despair. "Oh well, gotta save this worthless thing one way or another..." With a quick shove of his foot, Zelda's limp body skidded across the empty floor of the chamber and out of Herald's eyesight. "Hopefully that will keep him from attacking her."

With Zelda no longer in harms way, Ness lifted his fists and braced himself for a painful encounter with Herald. But then, out of no where, Link managed to not only catch up with the slower Herald, but pass and cut off the beast, placing himself directly in the path of the monster and it's prey. Link raised his shield and gripped his sword tightly, ready to block then jump in with an attack. "You'll have to get past me first!"

What ensued after that was quite funny. Herald's AI had already deemed Ness the target and he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way. So, with one effortless toss, he picked up Link by his head and flicked the Hylian away to the side, not once slowing down in the process. That, accompanied by Link's high pitched scream as he was flung across the room, caused Ness's avatar to let down a rather large sweatdrop emote. "Nice job hero..." He muttered as the Hylian crashed into the floor with a loud clank.

Now that Link was out of the way, nothing stood between the boy and beast. Ness prepared himself for the worst, closing his eyes in anticipation for the blow as Herald neared. The knight stopped for only a moment, in which he began to lift his blade and caused it glow a faint red color. "Man... I really didn't want to use my 1UP so early..." But then, Ness noticed something behind Herald that made his eyes go wide. Right above his head was Marth, jumping into the air with his sword lifted high over his head. The blade itself was glowing a light blue color, but it was clear Marth wasn't planning on using his Dolphin Slash. "What the-"

"YAAA!" Marth screamed, causing Herald to glance over his shoulder. When seeing Marth, Herald slowly began to turn around in an attempt to block, but it was too late. The swordsman had already gotten too close too fast, and by the time Herald had turned half ways around, Marth had already slashed the beast in two, causing a loud explosion to ring out across the field. His last attack did well over one hundred damage, more then enough damage to finish off the hellish knight and destroy it.

"He did it..." Link said in amazement as he watched Marth deliver the final blow. "He took him dow... without using his adrenaline gauge..."

When the smoke vanished and there was no signs of Herald's body to be found, Marth quickly began grinning ear to ear over his latest triumph. "YES! I did it! Haha!"

"Way to go Marth!" Link cheered, getting up off the floor and jogging over to his teammate and flinging his arm around him. "You finished him off in one swipe! Good job!"

"So, was that?!" Marth asked hopefully, his grin never fading.

Link, however, looked confused. "Was that what?"

"My final smash! I didn't use Dolphin Slash on it... so was it?"

The Hylian shook his head, then smiled once again. "No, just another regular smash attack." Marth's cheerful face quickly started to fade to a gloomy one. "Don't worry Marth! You'll know when you used your final smash, trust me. But what you just did was incredible in its own right! You stopped that monster and saved Ness!"

"Saved Ness? Oh yeah..." Marth glanced over at the psychic boy, who was staring over at Marth with a shocked expression on his face. "I did, huh..."

It didn't take long for Ness to catch himself and quickly turn away in a huff, crossing his arms. "Yeah, well I didn't need your help anyway. And if you expect me to say thanks, then you're more of a newbie then I thought!"

Marth rolled his eyes and removed Link's arm. "You're welcome..." He muttered, turning away from the boy.

Link laughed and quickly changed the subject. "Well, let's get moving then! Ness, could you heal Zelda so we can make our way to the next chamber?" Ness didn't respond at first, either verbally or with his avatar. "...Ness?"

"Huh?" Asked Ness, turning back around. "What did you say?"

"Heal Zelda? She's kinda of..." He looked over at the NPC, who was looked like a rag doll tossed carelessly on the floor. "...dead."

"Oh! Uh, sure... I just need to rest a moment." Ness sat back down on the floor, going back into his mediation like state.

Link nodded at Ness, then looked over Marth, who looked rather disappointed. "What's... wait, no..." Marth glanced over at Link and raised an eyebrow.

**LINK: What's wrong? You just killed like an awesome mini boss :D Be happy :D  
MARTH: Ness is such a grouch.  
LINK: Just noticing? lol  
MARTH: lol  
MARTH: No, I mean like... I understand he doesn't like me,  
MARTH: But he could atleast be grateful or something.  
LINK: Thats the way Ness has always been, from the day I met him till today.  
MARTH: Ever tell you why? Or does he enjoy having a stick up his ass.  
LINK: He's gone over it in vauge details.  
MARTH: Well?  
LINK: Well what?  
MARTH: Tell me :D!  
LINK: heh  
LINK: No. It'd be best if Ness told u when he's ready.  
MARTH: But then I'll never know about it!!  
MARTH: :(  
LINK: He'll tell u, trust me.  
LINK: One day.  
MARTH: Can I get a hint atleast :)?  
LINK: It has to do with someone he knew a long time ago.  
LINK: Thats all I'm telling you :D! Haha  
MARTH: Hmph.  
MARTH: Then can I ask another question?  
LINK: Not including that?  
MARTH: Why do you hang around with him? You're like polar opposites.  
LINK: Opposites attract you know. You'd be surprised.**

--

I looked over at the resting boy and then back at the conversation. "Ness..." I whispered so as the game didn't register my speech. What in the world is up with that boy?

Oh well. The world may never know.

...Why do I want a lollipop now?

--

"Life Up Beta!"

The sound of Ness's healing spell ended their whisper chat and forced them to look over at Zelda, who was standing up and brushing off her dress. "Protect me!" Was her way of saying thank you to the boy.

Once noticing that Herald was defeated, the computer took control over Zelda's avatar and caused her to walk into the middle of the room, where another cutscene was triggered. Zelda was in the center of the room, hunched over Herald's body, which had magically reappeared. Link, Marth and Ness stood in the background, watching silently as the action took place. "Herald..." Zelda whispered, placing her hand gently on his forehead. "My most trusted guard..."

"Pr-Princess Zelda"... Came Herald's normal voice, though it was clearly weaker then it would be had he not looked like he just got through a meat grinder. "I am sorry."

"There is nothing be sorry about Herald... do not worry."

Herald turned and looked at the three standing behind her. "You have good friends, my princess. I'm sure you'll make it out of here alive."

"Yes, and so will you..." Zelda told the knight, causing the AI to laugh quietly. "What is so funny?"

"Even when it's clear that I am dying, you still try to bring my hopes up. Princess, it is that purity you have that will make your entire army gladly protect you till death..."

"No... no, don't give up!" Herald smiled at Zelda once last time, before his eyes closed tightly shut and his smile began to fade. "No..." Zelda put her head on his chest and her avatar began to cry. Link took a step out to go and comfort her, but Marth's hand quickly shot up and pulled him back. But then, before anyone could realize, Zelda's body began to glow yellow. The three heros gasped in shock as the yellow light then enveloped Herald's body and soon became so bright that neither of the NPCs could be seen.

"Princess!" Was the only words uttered by Link during the spectacle. When the light finally died down a moment later, Zelda and Herald could be seen still in their same spot, only this time, Herald was sitting up. Upon seeing this, Link, Marth and Ness all gasped in shock, taking a step backwards in awe.

Herald looked just as surprised. "My lady... what have you done? I am... alive?"

"That must be the power those vile creatures are trying to capture..." Link muttered as Herald and Zelda stood up. "Amazing."

Herald quickly bowed to the princess and got down on one knee. "Princess, you have given me the gift of a second life. Please, allow me to live it in your service. Let me come with you and help you escape."

"Herald..." Zelda spoke quietly, a smile returning to her a face. She nodded a moment later and agreed. "Yes! Come with us, Herald!"

The cutscene ended their and the three players quickly noticed that under Zelda's name Herald's name now appeared. After they were able to move again, Link and Marth heard Ness let out a loud moan. "Great. Now there's TWO of 'em..."

"Your job just keeps getting tougher and tougher, huh Ness?" Link taunted with a grin, at with Ness responded by sticking his tongue out. Link chuckled at Ness for a moment, then turned and began to leave the chamber. "Let's get going guys, we still have a ways to go! And we need to finish this fast!"

Link charged out of the room, followed closely behind by Zelda and their new henchman Herald. Marth was quick to follow aswell, but paused for a second when he noticed Ness had not followed. He looked back over at the boy, who was still standing in the same spot, staring out into space. "Ness!" His shout snapped the boy out of his thoughts. "C'mon!"

"I'll come when I'm ready!" Ness retorted, crossing his and looking away. Marth shrugged it off and continued on, and a few seconds later, so did Ness.

They traveled down another dark corridor, but only for a minute or so before another cutscene began to play. In this one, Zelda and Herald came to a short stop upon seeing torches and the shine of a large mass of armor heading down the hallway. "My princess, they're coming for you!" Herald shouted, taking out his sword.

Link, Marth and Ness all too readied themselves for combat, but Zelda remained calm. She, instead, walked to the side of the hallway and placed her hand upon the stone wall. "...We're here. The secret passage is in here!" Her hand began to glow a light gold, much like it did in the room earlier, and once the glowing stopped, the stones on the wall slowly began to slide out of place, revealing a hidden passage. "Quickly, everyone! In here!" The four men ran into the passage after Zelda. Once they entered, the stones began to realign themselves with the wall, returning it to it's normal appearance just as the army of possessed knights ran by.

Once inside, torches magically lit up, lighting the otherwise pitch black corridor. "Good work Princess!" Link and Herald said in unison.

"Yes. Now we just need to follow this pathway out of the castle. It shouldn't be too long. But be careful, friends. To protect these pathways, my father's mages have placed hexes and traps to attack those who are not of royal blood. Let us tread carefully..."

The scene ended and the players could once again control their avatars. "Traps? I don't remember traps..." Ness told the others once the scene was done. "Must be new."

"Yeah, so let's be careful. I don't think Zelda can be hurt by them, but most traps in this game are instant kills." Link replied. "Watch yourself."

Suddenly, the typical background music of Hyrule Castle faded out and a loud voice boomed across their headsets. "Attention all participants in the Attack on the Castle Event!" It was Peach. "The first four teams have completed the event! We are still looking for twelve more to join in the next round, so hurry up! Good luck!"

A sense of immediate panic fell over the group. "Oh no! Four teams have already finished?! And we're not even half way done!" Ness cried.

"We're not?!" Marth asked in shock. "I thought that guy was the mini-boss!" He said, pointing to Herald.

"Well... I'm not sure, maybe Peach edited it. But we still have a long ways to go."

"Then we need to hurry!" Marth cried, dashing down the hallway.

Both Ness and Link let out a gasp as Marth barreled down the corridor. "Marth, wait! It's dangerous alone!" Shouted Link, raising a hand to try and stop the swordsman.

But it was too late. Marth had already wandered too far down into the hall and had foolish walked right into the first trap. Upon stepping on a certain panel in the floor, Marth heard the creaking sound of something heavy heading his way. "What the..." He looked left, nothing. Right, nothing. Then finally he looked up and the last thing Marth saw was a large circle of stone falling from the sky straight onto his body.

--

You are dead! You are dead! Please wait for your teammate to revive you!

...Why don't I think before I act?

I sighed and leaned back in my computer chair. "I guess I have to wait until..." Just then, my screen quickly filled back with life and color, showing I had been revived and Marth was laying down on the floor. "Oh, that was fast..."

"Don't you think before you act!" Ness shouted, leaning over into my face. "NPC Zelda just told us it was dangerous! Stupid newbie!"

I made Marth stand up and push away the little boy. "Shut up..." I muttered, putting in the emotion to have Marth brush off his armor. "How did I get revived so fast? I didn't think the brat here would even consider reviving me!"

Ness rolled his eyes at me, like normal as Link began to explain. "Remember those 1UP Mushrooms Peach mentioned?" ...Oh. "Yeah, when you died, yours was automatically used. So now... if you die again, only Ness can revive you."

Figures. I guess I really should try and be more careful...

"And I doubt that will happen!" I heard Ness remark, to which I growled. "...So here." Huh?

**NESS wishes to trade with you!  
Yes/No?**

Um... Confused, I moved my mouse over to the accept button and it opened up the trade window. I didn't know what it was he was about to trade until I noticed he had put up his 'Event 1UP Shroom'. "Ness?"

"I won't need it, trust me on that! Rather not see it go to waste on someone who won't die. Atleast it'll get some use out of you."

Gee... I don't know if I should be thankful or pissed at the little boy. I clicked finished and the two of us finished our trade. "Thanks... I guess."

--

Links face showed he was slightly worried at Ness's decision. "Are you sure that was the brightest idea? I mean, the monsters are gonna swarm you every time you cast a heal... I think you'd die before Marth does again."

"Hey! Who was a healer for over seventy levels, hmm?" Ness said, raising an eyebrow. "If there is anyone who knows how to avoid monsters, its ME. Don't worry about it, if it comes down to it, I'll just save myself over you. That's the healers way, those who heal and run away live to revive another day."

The Hylian still seemed nervous, but nodded anyway. "Okay. Let's get going then, we have no time to spare! But carefully this time!"

"Right, right, I gotcha." Marth replied with a moan. "Why don't you lead the way, Link."

Link nodded and the group of five were soon making their way carefully down the secret passage, and hopefully to the ending of the first round.

--

-Mushroom Kingdom-

Sheik and Pit warped into the city in two flashes of light and strolled up to the fountain in the center of the town. "So we were challenged to a tournament by SSBB? All because... Pikachu thinks... Marth... PKed... Mewtwo?" Pit asked, his tone showing a slight hint of disbelief.

"As odd as it seems, thats what happened." Sheik replied.

"Are we going too?"

She shrugged. "It's up to Zelda. Although now that I know Dr. Mario will be partaking in the tournament..."

"You know Zelda better then any of us. What do you think she'll do?"

"...I'm pretty sure she'll agree."

Pit nodded and smiled. "Okay! Good, now I'm looking forward to this team tournament!"

Sheik sighed and turned away from Pit, heading back in the direction of the misty portal. "Don't get too excited. We never know until she herself says it. Anyway, I have some personal business to take care of, so I'll be disbanding the party."

"Sure, I think I'm going to log off then."

"Very well. I'll see you later, Pit." Pit waved to Sheik and vanished in a flash of light, his player logging off from the game. Sheik dissolved the party and continued her stroll over to the portal, where she entered it and chose her new destination.

--

-Pherae-

Mewtwo sat, or rather, he floated upon the rooftop of one of the many buildings in the foggy city. This particular building was his favorite to lounge on, it was the 'tavern' of the town, where players met and role-played in a middle ages styled tavern. The mist itself wasn't as thick here, either, so players passing by could see the shadow of the floating pokemon and constantly wonder how he managed to get up there. But today, there were no passerby's, only one visitor. "Why do you sit here?"

Mewtwo turned and looked at his visitor. "I enjoy listening to them role-play. It's very funny, you know. Apparently, Timothy Twelve-Ninety Two cheated on his 'wife', XXSephiroth FifteenXX for the pokemon mage Arcaniana. But you see, Arcaniana is really a gerudo who recently went under a magical operation-"

"Oh come on, we both know you hate RPing."

The psychic chuckled and stood up, turning to face his visitor. "You know me too well, Sheik. Well, the real reason I'm here is because at times people tend to base their games on events that happened to them. Infact, I heard earlier today that Dr. Mario was seen in Dry Dry Desert..."

Sheik looked rather surprised. "So it was you?"

Upon hearing Sheik's accusation, Mewtwo also looked somewhat confused. "It was me? What did I do?"

"...Nothing, forget it."

Mewtwo closed his eyes and smirked. "Very well. So, what is it you came up here to tell me?"

Sheik looked off into the mist, staring into the gray nothingness. "SSBM will partake in the tournament. Just thought you'd like to know." She answered, turning back around to face him.

"Really? But what about Zelda? Doesn't she have the final word in this?" Sheik's odd stare was enough to make the psychic laugh. "I just thought I'd ask."

"Don't worry about Zelda, she'll agree. Trust me on that." Said the assassin, folding her arms across her chest. "Surprised you'd even ask that, though."

"You never know with that Hylian." With a shrug, Mewtwo sat back down and continued to float. "I'll send a message to Ash then. So what was it that caused you to change your mind?" Sheik chuckled to herself and chose not to answer his question, jumping off the roof and walking back down the misty streets of Pherae. "Hmph... rude girl."

--

-Warlocks Tower-

Dr. Mario warped into an area dubbed by Bowser, the 'Warlocks Tower.' The deadly healer made his way into the six towered building and ripped the number four clock off the hook, covering the hackers body in the mysterious black cloak. Once covered, he marched down the hallway. Like before, the plain and dark hallway only had one exit, and this small exit was the only place in the entire hall that light was shinning from. It didn't take him long, Dr. Mario reached the end of the tunnel in about forty seconds or so, strolling into the dark room infront of him. Seven chairs rested in a semi circle around one large throne, a beam of white light shinning down upon it. The assassin didn't stop and sit down, he instead kept walking, looking left and right for any sign of another player. He had just about given up and was about to move on when he heard a yawn.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want, Euthanasia? Its a rare treat to see you wander by."

Dr. Mario turned to see the fifth chair was occupied by the cloaked warlock Maiden, her avatar sitting sideways in her large chair. "None of your businesses Maiden." He scoffed, turning away from his fellow hacker.

Maiden giggled to herself. "You're always so secretive. C'mon, I'm being serious, I'm sure I can help you. You know I have a talent for finding things."

"You're such an idiot Maiden." Dr. Mario muttered. The two remained quiet after that for a moment until he spoke up asking, "Have you seen Blade around?"

Maiden's devious laugh caused Dr. Mario to let out a growl. "Why, maybe I have. I think I recall seeing him around here a while ago... maybe if I knew why you were looking for him, I'd be able to remember more, hmm?"

"No reason. I'll be off then."

The healer turned to leave when the female player called out to him, "Wait, now. I have a question for you..."

"I doubt I'll answer."

She chuckled again. "Little birdy tells me you've been hanging around in... rather suspicious areas. For your level, I mean." Dr. Mario let out a small sound of surprise, but he didn't let her info shake him. Maiden didn't seem to notice either. "Any response, Euthy old boy?"

"You pry too much into other people's work."

Maiden broke out laughing this time. "Pry? Oh, yes. Pry. I mean, there isn't much I can do around here besides pester you folks, after all." Dr. Mario rolled his eyes, though the cloak hid it from Maiden, and he began to walk towards the exit again. "Heh. Well, if you are planning on doing anything... suspicious... make sure you run it by me first." This comment caused Dr. Mario to freeze in his tracks and turn to look at the other warlock in disbelief. "You heard me right."

It took Dr. Mario a moment to shake off the surprise again. "Heh. So outwardly announcing yourself? You should be more careful."

"Not like the big boss doesn't know about it anyway."

"I'm sure if he did, your avatar would be rotting away in his recycle bin right now."

Maiden looked off into the darkness, not answering right away. "...He wouldn't delete me. I'm too valuable to him."

"Are you now?" She didn't reply. "I see. I'll be going then."

"Oh, by the way... I haven't seen Blade all day. No clue where he is, I don't think he's logged on since yesterday."

"Hm... Very well, Maiden." He began to leave but paused to speak one final time. "I'll... be in touch." Were the last words he spoke to the girl before he left the chamber, leaving the other warlock to begin laughing hysterically to herself.

--

-Event Hyrule Castle-

"STUPID NEWBIE, DIDN'T WE TELL YOU TO WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING?!"

"I'M SORRY, GEEZ!"

"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT!"

"Protect me!"

"WILL YOU TWO QUIET DOWN?!"

The group was running down the empty corridor trying to get away from the rolling boulder that was chasing them. At the same time, they were failing terribly at protecting themselves from small, poisoned tip darts that were being shot at them from both sides of the wall. Ness had cast a shield around each of the party members, but the darts still did a small amount of damage and were decreasing their HP as they went. Not to mention the boulder was picking up speed as the hallway began to slope downwards.

"LINK, WHAT DO WE DO?!" Marth shouted as they continued their dash down the hall.

The Hylian didn't answer, his player trying to think of a way to avoid the boulder. But something in the distance suddenly caught his eye. "UP THERE!"

The long hallway was quickly coming to an end. A huge stone wall was now about to smash the players in-between the boulder and the wall. But Link noticed that on either side of the wall there were pathways, leading down a left and right corridor. "WHICH WAY SHOULD WE GO NESS?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!"

"At crossroads, we should always turn left!" All three of the guild members glanced back at Zelda, who was running daintily behind them.

"Well that was an oddly helpful-"

"I'm being manhandled!"

"Nevermind. LEFT!" Link shouted as his avatar jumped into the left corridor followed closely behind by Marth, Ness, Zelda and Herald. Just as they landed in the corridor the boulder crashed into the wall, exploding into tiny bits and pieces. The darts also stopped shooting, although none of them could reach down the corridor the party had just ducked in. "Phew. That was close."

Marth's avatar collapsed to the floor. "It still may be too close... look, our HP!"

What Marth was referring too was the poison symptom still applied to their avatars. It appeared it was going to end in a few moments, but their HP's had already dropped far too low to spare even one more moment. "Oh right, the poison... Ness, can you heal us all in time?"

"No..." He muttered, crossing his arms across his chest. "We don't have enough time, anyway. I'll just use this..." The boys body began to glow a light purple as a lavender sphere appeared above his head. It started out small but slowly grew over the course of about five seconds before it was about the size of Ness's head. "Life Up Sigma!" Shouted the boy as he flung his arms outwards. As he did, the purple orb exploded into five smaller orbs, four of those orbs flying over to the other party members, one falling back down onto Ness. After each orb connected with a player, their bodies were covered in a lavender aura for a moment, restoring a bit of their HP. While they weren't at full health, they had enough to safely wait out the remainder of the poison.

But this technique took a toll on Ness, his once full MP bar was reduced to a little under half. Link looked over at the boy and was about to ask if he needed to rest, but Ness shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I'll just use a Star Rod. Let's go before it's too late!"

They continued down the new hall, treading fast but carefully as they went. "That sure was a useful move Ness. Why don't you use it more often?" Marth asked as they walked.

Ness didn't answer. Instead it was Link who replied, "It draws the attention of the monster, or it's arggo if you didn't know, to Ness much quicker then normal heals, and makes it harder to break the monster's attention. Pretty much he can only use it if he's well protected, or if its a last ditch effort. It also needs alot of MP, as you can plainly see."

"I know what arggo means..." Marth answered, slightly offended. "I just.. don't know what it stands for, thats all."

"Aggression. Didn't you know? I take it you never saw that children's sport show with the 'Arggo Crag'?"

"...No..."

Link smiled. "Well, you should! It's awesome!"

Marth raised an eyebrow. "How old are you again?"

The screen went black just as Marth spoke and another cut scene took over their controls. Link, Marth and Ness continued down the hall cautiously but quickly came to a halt when they heard a light noise. "What was that?" Asked Link in the cut scene, lifting his shield. The noise was heard again... and then again. And finally, they were able to make out what the sound truly was;

"Meow!"

The entire group was seemingly shocked to see an orange cat waiting for them a little ways up in the hall. "Oh!" Zelda's AI shouted, pushing up past the trio. "Keaton! It's my cat." She began to run down the hallway carelessly, ignoring Link's plea for her to stand still. As Zelda neared her cat, it turned and scampered down another hallway, Zelda turning the corner to follow.

"Zelda! Please wait!" Link was scripted to cry as the group gave chase. And as they turned the corner they were in for a grim surprise. "Zelda?! Zelda! She's gone!"

Marth, Ness and Link began searching left and right for the missing princess until Herald finally spoke up, "She mustn't have gotten far! We must press onward and find our princess!"

The short scene ended and they were once again in control of their characters. The first words spoken were of Ness, and in quiet contradiction with their programed selves. "Good, I hated her anyway. Who really cares when an NPC mysteriously disappears?"

"I only really care if they're holding an important item or something." Link answered as he continued to push down the hall. "So no loss here."

They continued on for a little ways down the dark hall until a flash of black fell from the ceiling above them. Link quickly stepped backwards, lifting his shield for defense. Marth dashed up and joined Link on the front lines while Ness remained behind once again. "What just fell?" Marth asked, examining the area. They couldn't see anything, the hall was too dimly lit, the only area visible was that of where they were right now.

"If we knew, you'd think we'd be attacking it..." Ness growled from behind. The fighters stood their ground, unmoving for atleast another fifteen seconds. Once Link figured it was safe, he inched his avatar an bit forward, only to cause the black shadow to return. Only this time, it charged up right towards them and reared up on it's back legs with a hiss - it was a giant black spider, poison dripping from his long fangs. "Yaaaaa!"

Although there was a menacing spider staring the team down, both Link and Marth glanced behind them to see Ness's panic struck face. "What's wrong?" Asked Marth quickly.

"IT'S A FREAKING HUGE SPIDER! LINK, KILL IT FAST! AAAH!" Ness cried, turning his head away in fear.

Marth was in utter shock and confusion, not knowing if he should laugh or... well, that was really the only thought going through his head. But it was being suppressed by the confusion of just why Ness would be afraid of a computerized spider. Link didn't seem too surprised at the ordeal, he went quickly into battle mode and charged towards the spider, slashing it clean through it's right side and lowering it's HP. Upon hearing the spider screech in pain, Marth spun back around and charged at the monster himself. However the spider wasn't about to take another blow as easily this time, and as Marth closed in for the strike, the monster flicked one of it's lifted legs at Marth, smashing into his chest and knocking the swordsman back onto the floor.

"Oof!" Marth's avatar moaned as he slammed into the floor. The spider took notice that Marth's HP had decreased and it took advantage of this, charging at the blue haired boy and completely ignoring Link. The monster's fangs began to drip an even greater amount of green poison as it lunged forward at Marth, trying to mount the swordsman. But as it neared him, a small bolt of energy shot out over Marth's head and collided with the spider, causing it to burst into a pillar of flames. "Huh? PK Fire?" Asked Marth confused as he watched the spider being juggled in the flames.

"YESSS!" Ness shouted from behind in a panic. "NOW KILL IT YOU STUPID NEWBIE! AAAH!"

Marth stumbled to his feet and his blade began to glow. "Dolphin Slash!" He shouted, jumping into the air. As he shot upwards, his glowing sword slashed right through the center of the burning spider, knocking the monster out of the flames, but dealing a good deal of damage to the beast. By now the monster's HP had fallen to about half. Link looked as if he was about to charge in once Marth gracefully landed next to him. But as Marth floated down to the ground they heard the clanking of armor and were surprised to see Herald had stepped infront of Ness and was facing down the menacing spider.

Herald lifted his huge sword easily over his head and it's blade began to glow yellow. "This is for Princess Zelda!" Shouted his AI as it brought the glowing blade down onto the monster. As it did, there was a huge explosion of gold smoke and the sound of a screeching spider. When the smoke faded, the spider fell onto it's back and curled it's eight legs just before exploding into colorful pieces of data. Herald swung his sword proudly over his shoulder and his avatar smiled, but after that he returned to his silent, emotionless self.

"Well thats a welcomed changed. A relatively useful NPC." Link said with smile as he and Marth walked back over to Ness and Herald. "You need rest Ness?"

Ness looked up from his spot and looked around. Letting a small sigh of relief he quickly regained his composer and crossed his arms. "Hmph, of course not..." His dark eyes quickly glanced over at Marth, who was preparing to make a comment. "Not a word from you, or I swear I will kill you so many times you'll find yourself at level negative one!"

Marth shrugged. "I wasn't going to say anything. Geez..."

"Ness had a rather... traumatic experience with a spider monster before." Link explained, crossing in between their paths. "Whos ever idea it was to combine a spider monster with a NARH boss is beyond me, but boy that was scary..."

"NARH?" Asked Marth.

"New Age Retro Hippie."

"...Why am I not surprised."

"Shut your mouth!" Ness snapped. "Maybe when you reach the higher levels you'll understand. But that will never happen."

Marth growled and pointed a finger at Ness. "Oh, quiet you! You're really being extra annoying today!"

"Oh, please! Maybe if I didn't have to look at your face so much I wouldn't be so annoyed!"

"What did you just say you big headed freak?!"

"You heard me you floatly tiara boy!"

Ness and Marth both began to glare at one another so much that the game even took the time to add a lighting bolt effect between their angry eyes. Link, who stood off to the side of the spectacle, could only rub the back of his head and sigh. "I really don't know what to do with you two anymore..." He muttered to himself, looking away down the hall with a surprisingly sad expression. "Whatever..."

Marth and Ness continued to glare at each other for another few moments until they had notice that Link, followed closely behind by Herald, had already begun marching down the hall once more. After noticing this, the two glanced at each other one last time before giving chase after the Hylian down the dark pathway.

--

-Underground Hyrule Castle Event-

Mario and Luigi sat ontop of some rocks staring out at the other groups of players who had made it to the next round. "Only five in total, including us." Mario whispered, crossing his arms. "Not a whole lot... but the event has been going on for a while now, others should have gotten here by now."

"Well, I did try to make this event as challenging as I could." Came the calm voice of Peach, still in her Rosalina disguise. "I'm more surprised that there are any teams here already."

"Really? I didn't find it all too difficult... but then again, with the three of us... I mean, what can't we take down." Mario replied with a little chuckle as Rosalina apporched the duo. "You did pretty good back there Pe- Rosalina."

Rosalina smiled a bit. "Thanks. But it wasn't hard to know the weaknesses and the way to get to this area fast." She turned to Luigi, who was busy kicking a stone around with his foot. "Luigi, I have a question..."

The man in green turned towards Rosalina and nodded. "Sure, what's up?"

"While I do know them... I don't really interact with Link, Ness and Marth everyday like you do. So I was just wondering if you think they'll be able to clear this event."

It didn't take Luigi too long to give his answer. "Of course they will. Link and Ness are both seasoned players, and Marth is one talented newbie. They'll be done in no time, I know it." He answered with a nod.

-SSB:O Headquarters-

A young lady sat at a desk with two computers mounted ontop of it - one, showing Mario, Luigi and Rosalina. The other was showing various clips of the event going on, such as players battling monsters or racing through the castle. She, instead of focusing on the second computer, was busy talking into the headset mounted on her right head and moving the female character on the screen about. "Oh, I hope you're right." She spoke, the game quickly changing the voice of the woman into a more high pitched tone. "I'm going to check on them right now though... I'll be right back."

"Sure thing Rosalina." Came Mario's voice.

"Hurry back!" Was Luigi's reply.

No soon after did she place her controller down and remove her headset. She then swiveled around in her chair to face the multicolor flashing screen on her left, and began to type in a stream of commands. The commands quickly narrowed the amount of boxes from a large number to only one. This box was showing Link, Ness and Marth charging through the hallway followed closely behind by Herald. "Good, they're approaching the last part of the event." She whispered to herself. "I certainly hope they remember what I told them..."

--

Marth delivered a quick slice to another monstrous spider that had appeared in their pathway. His blade sliced the beast in two and depleted the rest of it's HP, causing it too exploded. "It's gone, you can come out now." Marth shouted once the monster had been cleared.

"SHUT IT!"

The swordsman chuckled to himself and turned to look at Link, who didn't really seem all that interested. Infact, the Hylian looked rather disappointed at the two. Upon seeing his reaction, Marth immediately stopped his laughing. "Link, are you-"

"Let's keep going." The Hylian spoke, putting his sword away and continuing down the path. Herald soon followed as did Ness and Marth was no different.

--

Instead of talking to each other on their way, we all remained quiet. And so did the environment around us, no monsters spawned or cut scenes played. The only sound filling my speakers was that of the background music for Hyrule Castle. But all the while I couldn't help but wonder, was something wrong with Link? I mean, seeing that boy frown is like seeing a pig flying across the sky in the middle of a snowstorm in July. It just doesn't happen!

After building up the courage to send a whisper, I finally found myself typing out a nice message.

**MARTH: Hey, u ok?**

I waited for a moment... then finally Link replied to my message.

**LINK: I'm fine.  
MARTH: U don't look fine.**

There was another pause. Maybe Ness was whispering him too?

**LINK: This is a game. How can u tell how I'm feeling?  
MARTH: It's been too long since your last /smile.  
LINK: Oh  
LINK: Sorry**

And that was it. I waited for another response but nothing came. And I didn't really have anything else to say... did I do something wrong? I guess I'll have to ask Link a little bit later, because just then I noticed that a bright light had appeared on my screen. So did Link and Ness, who let out low gasps upon seeing it. "Is that the exit?" I asked.

"Looks like it." Came the dull response of Link. Man, something was bugging him, I could tell.

"Then let's keep going." I heard Ness say. "The sooner we're out of this tunnel the better."

--

The party made their way up to the light, which was so bright that the exit to the tunnel was just filled with white light. They couldn't see anything on the other side of it, so walking into the light would be the same as walking into the unknown. "Should we go in?" Marth asked as they came to a stop at the light.

"Of course!" Ness snapped back, walking infront of him. "Let's go."

Link stared up at the light for a moment and pondered what could be on the other side. "...Well, I guess we really have no choice anyway." He said finally, walking forward along with Ness.

They entered the light and once disappearing in the glow, yet another cut scene began to play. Their screens filled with white light quickly transformed into the main hallway of Hyrule Castle although it looked nothing like the field they became accustomed too. Two grand staircases leading up to a balcony that crossed the span of the room. There was a red carpet leading across the balcony and down the stairs, and a huge chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. On the back of the wall there was a familiar site - the glass window the real Zelda would spend hours gazing into. Down the stairs was a huge door - the entrance to the castle, and on either side of it were archways, likely leading to other rooms in the castle.

Link, Ness, Marth and Herald appeared on the left side of this balcony, leaving from a small hole in the wall. After a few moments of glancing about the chamber, something quickly caught Link's eye and the Hylian ran up after it. The game's camera panned around as Link ran to reveal Zelda was standing in the middle of the balcony, looking down at the door infront of them. "Zelda!" Link shouted, running over to the NPC.

Zelda turned and stared at Link for a moment. "...Oh,..." She spoke softly, turning back to the doorway. Link followed her gaze and let out a low gasp upon seeing that the door was moving back and forth, each movement followed by a huge bang. With a cut, the camera showed the party what was happening right outside the door - the entire army of Gerudo's have reached the castle and were about to break in. "They're here..."

Once the camera returned to the two, the rest of Link's party had joined the duo in staring at the door. "We were too slow, my princess." Herald said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Zelda didn't seem too worried, however. Instead, she just continued to stare at the door, her eyes void of any emotion. "What should we do?" She nearly whispered.

"We must fight!" Link cried, taking out his sword. "Is there anyway you can escape from here? We will buy you enough time to make your get away!"

Herald looked over at Zelda hopefully, but she shook her head. "No, that chamber lead us here... there is no other way."

Suddenly there came a crashing sound, like something glass had just broken. A moment later, from both of the two archways, three Gerudo warriors appeared, each one of them holding either a long spear, or brass knuckles upon their fists. "The vile wenches have broken in through the windows!" Herald shouted, he now also taking out his sword. "We must send these foul women back where they came from!"

Marth and Ness's AI also prepared themselves for battle as Zelda began to talk again. "...There is only one way out... and it's through the main door!"

With that, Zelda raced away from the protection of the group and began to dash down the stairway towards the front door. The Gerudos saw her approaching and began to chuckle, turning their gaze towards the foolish princess. The four could only watch in horror as she neared the group, Link finally shouting out, "ZELDA!" as the cut scene ended.

As control returned to the three players, there was an immediate sense of disbelief. But after a moment of confusion, they noticed that Zelda was indeed still charging head first into battle against the six towering Gerudos. It took Ness's shout, "BITCH THINKS SHE CAN TANK!" to snap the others out of their trace and race on into battle along side the NPC. "PSI Shield Gamma!"

The shield shot up around Zelda, granting her easy passage through the monsters - each of their attacks dealt only a small amount of damage to the princess. When she finally reached the door, she began to pull on the handles vigorously, trying to open the locked door. In the top of the screen a large bar appeared, it's title reading 'Door' above it, and with each pull it slowly began to disappeared.

Marth and Link quickly ran into the front lines and began to slice the first two Gerudos they saw, both of which fell after about three swipes of their blade. "These guys aren't that tough." Marth announced as he turned to fight another oncoming monster.

But no sooner did he speak did two more Gerudo's run out from the archways. Link took notice of this and after stabbing the Gerudo fighting him in the chest, destroying it, he made the assumption, "Yeah they're weaker... but there is a whole lot of them!"

Marth and Link didn't need any of their special moves to kill off the monsters. Marth would swipe them a few times with his blade, and Link would hit them twice then shoot a bow through their chest to finish them off. But for each Gerudo they killed, two more were taking its place. Marth found his sword clanking against one of the Gerudo's spears, and while trying to fight for dominance, he had two more Gerudo's punching him ferociously in the back, reducing his HP by about ten percent. A quick heal from Ness fixed it, but as more and more of the monsters appeared, the group slowly began to become over run.

"Life Up Alpha! Life Up Alpha!" Ness shouted from atop the stairs, pointing his fingers at Marth, then over to Link. "Life Up Alpha! Man, don't you guys have any AoEs?"

Link slashed a Gerudo down her chest, destroying it, and then flipped in the air and threw a boomerang at the head of another, knocking it onto the floor and returning his weapon to his hand. "Hang on, let me try this!" Link landed and jumped backwards into an open spot in the chamber. He reached behind him and his body began to glow a faint white color. The game made a sound like water dripping, and out from Link's back came a blue bomb which he grasped tightly in his right hand.

"Where the heck did you pull that bomb from?! Thats useful!" Marth shouted in surprise as he finished off another Gerudo. Moments later, he was quickly tackled to the group and punched directly in his face by his attack. The Gerudo didn't stay on him for long, as Herald's massive blade swung by at that very time, slicing her clean in half and causing it to exploded.

The Hylian didn't answer. Instead he bent down and was about to jump into the air when a Gerudo warrior jumped onto his back and tackled him to the ground. The bomb fell from his hands and rolled over to the stairs, right at Ness's feet. The psychic wasted no time in racing back up the stairs away from the flashing red bomb, escaping just as it exploded, taking along with it a chunk of the staircase. Link punched the Gerudo in the face, knocking to the ground, then stood up and brought his blade down directly into her chest, finishing it off. "Okay, I'm gonna need some back up for me to use my AoE."

"What does AoE mean?" Asked Marth as a Gerudo's spear pierced his armor, knocking the swordsman back. "...Is it good?"

"I'll explain it later!" Link shouted as he backflipped away to another safe spot. "Just watch my back!"

"Dolphin Slash!" As Marth's attack finished off his latest opponent, he nodded and ran over towards Link, leaving Herald to swing his blade about the room wildly, cutting down any monster foolish enough to cross it's path. "Okay, I'm right here."

Link took out another bomb and jumped into the air, this time without any complications. As he flew into the air he noticed that the once six Gerudos had now turned into fourteen, all swarming upon both Herald and Zelda. Both of the NPC's were getting healed by Ness, but the psychic's MP was slowly reaching its end. "This had better clear them all out!" Link threw the bomb over to where Herald was being swamped by the Gerudos. The bomb landed with a thud and then exploded, not only knocking Herald across the room, but taking a good chuck of his HP out with him. More importantly though, the blast had completely destroyed all of the Gerudo's attacking the knight, reducing the total amount of monsters in the room to only three - one of which Link finished off by bringing his sword down directly ontop of the monster as he fell, causing it to explode and stop it's attack on Zelda.

Marth finished off the other two, a quick swipe for one and a stab through the chest followed by a Dolphin Slash did it in for the two Gerudos. Once they were all defeated, Marth and Link ran to the center of the chamber and rested their backs against one another, both staring out into the archways for more monsters. Both of them took only a small amount of damage, which Ness was taking care of as they watched. Zelda's NPC continued to pull and tug on the door, and the bar that was on top of their screen had fallen to about sixty percent.

"Is that all of them?" Marth asked after no new Gerudo ran in to attack. Ness began to cast healing spells on the two injured swordsmen.

Link shook his head. "No, I doubt it. There is more to come. In some events where there is a large amount of monsters attacking at once, there are small periods like this where the monsters stop coming and the team can use items and heal without worry." He gripped his sword tightly and raised his shield into a defensive position. "They should be coming soon..."

Ness returned to the part of the stairs that Link's bomb had destroyed once the game recovered the area. "PSI Shield Beta! PSI Shield Beta!" He shouted twice, covering both Marth and Link in his psychic shield. Ness then took out another star rod and gripped it tightly, making it explode into color dust and refilling his empty MP bar. "Want me to nuke?" He asked once his MP had recovered.

"No, just stick with healing."

After a few more moments, Gerudo warriors finally began to once again enter through the archways - two on each side. These ones were different, instead of spears and knuckles, they had long robes and staves. "Mages..." Marth confirmed as they pointed their staves towards the group.

"Marth, run!" Link shouted just in time as the two ran in opposite directions just as a huge fireball exploded in the spot they were standing. Herald, who hadn't moved in time, was once again knocked back, but his armor protected him from taking a large amount of damage. One Link stood up he shouted over to the still rolling Marth, "I'll get the ones on the left!"

Marth rolled across the floor and jumped to his feet a few feet away from two of the mages who had entered from the right archway. They pointed their staves at the swordsman, one of their weapons glowing blue, the other red. A moment later the staves shot out two beams of energy, both of which Marth gracefully dodged. The two beams found themselves smashing into ground behind him harmlessly.

"Take this!" Marth cried and he slashed one of the Gerudo's down it's center. The monster moaned in pain and swung her staff at Marth, striking him in his chest for a small amount of damage. The other mage did the same, but Marth was able to block that mage's attack with his own sword. Once the Gerudo's pulled their staves back and began to charge up another attack, Marth pulled his blade back and caused it to glow. "Dolphin Slash!" He cried out, striking both of the Gerudo's in a horizontal line. This attack finished off the first mage Marth had attacked and weakened the other, causing her to fall to the ground. Marth finished her off with a quick flick of his blade a moment later.

The Hylian was having an easier time with his mages. His shield blocked the most recent magical attack by the Gerudo mages, reducing the damage to only a fraction of what it would have been. As their magic was recharging, the two monsters stood with their staves out in a defensives stance, which Link's strong blade quickly cut through in a second. Weaponless, the two mages turned to run, but were both finished off with an arrow to the back by Link's bow. "Good that was easy."

No sooner did Link speak did another cut scene begin. Zelda was still pulling against the doors, while Link and Herald stood by and watched. "Princess, you should stop! If that door opens, they'll flood the castle!" Herald cried.

But it was in vain, Zelda continued to pull on the door handles. "It's the only way out! We must go this way!" She replied.

A moment later there was another loud crash. The archways once again filled up with Gerudo forces, only this wave of monsters were wearing thick armor and wielding long, pointed swords. Link and Herald readied their weapons as the scene came to an end. The gerudo's charged in as the 'Door' bar reached fifty percent. "Geez they keep coming!" Marth cried as he pushed away an attacking Gerudo with his blade. No sooner did he defend himself did another sneak up from behind and stab the swordsman in his back, dealing a decent amount of damage, but reduced due to Ness's shield. He turned around and swipe his blade at the Gerudo, barely missing and taking another direct hit to his chest.

"Life Up Beta!"

Ness's spell recovered Marth's HP and allowed him to move away from the swarm of monsters for a moment as he prepared to charge back into the battle. His blade began to glow as he delivered a Dolphin Slash right to the chest of a Gerudo warrior, knocking it to the ground and destroying it.

Swords clashed and arrows flew through the air for the next few minutes as Link, Marth and Herald battled the massive spawn of Gerudos. For every one they killed, another would quickly appear in it's place and charge in to attack the weakened swordsmen. Ness' healing spells helped keep the three warriors going until they heard a terrible sound. They heard Ness's shield breaking apart, quickly followed by Zelda's shout of pain. The Gerudo's had broken through her protection and were now attacking her relentlessly. "Oh no!" Link yelled as he blocked an attack. "NESS!"

"Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta!" Was all Ness could reply. The Gerudos had swarmed the unprotected princess so fast that all of their attacks were reducing her HP slowly with each strike. "There's no... Life Up Beta!... time for me... Life Up Beta!... to cast a shield! Life Up Alpha!"

Ness' spells were keeping her alive, but only just. Link and Marth quickly left their battles and ran towards the princess, leaving the insanely strong Herald to deal with the oncoming Gerudos. Together, their blades made quick work of the attacking beasts, even though they were wearing thick armor. About ten swipes later, all of the Gerudos surrounding Zelda had been defeated and new ones had spawned at the archways to charge in. "Ness, cast your shield!" Link shouted as he charged back into the battle, his sword colliding with an attacking Gerudos.

"PSI Shield Gamma!" Ness yelled, his magical barrier appearing around the NPC a moment later.

The 'Door' bar had fallen to under forty percent and Ness used another Star Rod.

The duo continued their attacks on the large swarm of Gerudos for another minute or so. The sounds of metal clanking and bomb exploding filled the chamber as the fray reached the point where Marth nearly found himself recklessly slashing away at Herald, who's armor was the same color of that of the Gerudos. "Dolphin Slash!" He cried, slashing horizontally though another monster which fell to the ground dead a moment later. He turned around just in time to see Herald's massive sword chop down an approaching Gerudo. "Damn, how many more are there?!"

"Probably unlimited!" Link replied as he punched a Gerudo in it's chest, then followed up with a quick slash of his blade for the kill.

"AAAH!" The two swordsmen turned once again to Zelda, who's ear piercing scream indicated she was in trouble. Her shield hadn't broken this time, but she was suffering from the blunt of the Gerudo's attack, each one of the monsters bent on taking down the princess.

Ness grumbled as he casted a quick heal onto the wounded Link. "I'll heal her again, take out those monsters. Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta!"

The 'Door' bar was now around thirty six percent as Marth and Link charged over to the princess and began to chop down the fleet of Gerudo's attacking her. "Well, if they're unlimited, how long until they stop coming?" Marth asked, dodging a sword swipe.

"My guess is until that door bar reaches zero!" Replied the Hylian. Link stabbed a Gerudo in the back, causing MAJOR DAM to float over the monsters head before it fell to the ground and exploded. "Stupid NPCs, why does the game always make them either stupid or suicidal!"

--

Just then, something clicked. I paused and turned from my foe to watch as Link ducked under another swipe of the Gerudo's blade and started to think. "That phrase... it sounds familiar..." I muttered, quickly moving Marth out of the way of an oncoming attack.

"Life Up Beta! Well yeah, maybe cause thats what MOST people think of them!"

No, that wasn't it... where have I heard that before? I quickly dashed Marth around another Gerudo and hitting a few buttons on my remote allowing him to attack and finish off another monster. It wasn't long before both Link and I managed to clear the area surrounding Zelda of Gerudos. The henchmen Herald had managed to completely destroy the Gerudos that had not swarmed the princess, giving the team a much needed break to rest and recover. Herald's HP was the lowest, but Ness made the two of us a priority over the NPC.

"What were you muttering about?" I heard Link asked once Ness had finished healing him.

"I'm not sure." I answered truthfully. I really didn't know what I was talking about. There was just something about Link's phrase that sounded... so familiar. But too what? I had to be something important, I doubt such a silly little phrase would make me pause and think like that if it wasn't important.

Glancing about my screen I saw my Adrenaline Gauge was about fifty percent filled. After I... was tricked... in the tunnel, my bar reset back to zero. Pretty big shame considering I was about ninety-eight percent done... grr. Next my eyes fell across the newest bar on the screen, the one titled 'Door'.

It was at about twenty-nine percent.

"This is so stupid." I found myself grumbling. "Having to wait until Zelda opens that door... I mean, whats the point, once she opens it we're gonna get swarmed with Gerudo's anyway!"

I heard Link let out a low chuckle. "Yeah, its like Peach wanted her to kill herself. 'Course, I'm sure once that bar reaches zero some odd cutscene will take place..."

But then it hit me like a ton a bricks. I remember why that sounded so familiar!

CONTINUE...?


	21. LOGIN 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers or any of the games within this series.

A/N: I know, we've been in the damn Hyrule Castle for too long. Don't worry everyone, this is the last chapter of first part of the AotC event! Everyone excited? We're finally moving on! (Not really)

Seriously though, please don't get upset and stop reading during the big boss battle...

I know its bad. Thats the whole reason it took so long to get back from my hiatus.

Sorry it took a while also. But now that we're past this part, I think chapters will start coming out a bit faster. PVP is so much more fun then PVE, you know?

Background Music:

"Heart pounding" theme: Together We Ride (?) Hyrule Temple Alternative Fire Emblem Theme.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #20: Attack on the Castle! - Part 3**

--

-SSB:O Headquarters-

A young woman stared down at her second computer, a nervous look creeping onto her face. One by one her screen showed parties fighting and falling to her mass of computerized foes. But her eyes were focused most intensely on the live feed towards the bottom left part of her screen. It showed Marth, Link, Ness and their NPC just finishing up battling it out with her hoards of Gerudo's in the final chamber of the room. Despite reaching the last part of the stage, however, no smile was showing on her face. Instead she was frowning as the 'Door' bar continued to drop lower and lower.

"C'mon guys, you can do it..." She whispered, swirling around in her chair to face the other computer on her desk. This screen showed Mario and Luigi both staring off into a large amount of players who had made it past the final part of the first challenge. She picked up her remote, placed her headset tightly back on and returned to the game as her avatar, Rosalina.

--

"How are they doing?" Mario asked once Rosalina began to stir.

The woman shook her head negatively. "Not as well as I'd hope. They're in the final chamber, but..."

"They haven't gotten the catch yet?"

Rosalina nodded. "Yes."

Mario nodded and looked down at the ground in thought. Luigi on the other hand smiled. "I'm sure they'll figure it out. If the others without a hint from you could figure it out, they should be able to do it too."

Just then the sound of another party being dropped into the area rang out across the field. The three turned to see the newest group fall through the giant hole in the ceiling of the cave and land gracefully near the mass of other winning players. At first the three were about to dismiss the new arrival and turn away, but they quickly noticed who had just made it to the next round. "It's him..." Mario spoke quietly, standing up. "Serpent."

The figure who had just loaded into the field was none other then the cloaked Warlock Serpent, his bold number six undoubtedly giving away his identity. At his side were two other party members, both identical in size. That was about the only thing the three could tell about them, however, as they too were draped head to toe in a long black robe. The players around him quickly began to back away as he and his party made their way over to a corner of the cavern and rested, waiting for the event to continue on.

"I figured they'd make it here." Said Rosalina once the three figures had disappeared. "This isn't good."

Mario nodded. "Looks like it's going to be up to us to stop him after all. Oh well, nothing against Link and the others, but I didn't think they were up to the task of fighting a Warlock to begin with. I don't think any of them have ever fought a hacker before."

Luigi couldn't help but grin. "Mario, you really need to give SSBM more credit you know. They'll be here, I promise you."

"Well lets hope. Serpent's team was the twelfth one to enter this field." Rosalina announced. "They better get here soon."

--

-Event Hyrule Castle-

I remember now!

"Hey guys-"

"Watch out!"

I heard Link shout out a quick warning just as a ball of red energy was sent soaring towards Marth. With a quick click on my controller, my swordsman gracefully dodged the blast, which continued forward and smashed into the right grand staircase. Once landing, I watched Marth enter his battle position and saw that the next spawn of the Gerudo monsters have finally arrived. "Here we go..."

Link charged in almost immediately after they spawned, Herald following blindly behind. But instead of following my friend, I chose to hang back. I wanted to see if my hunch was correct...

--

Clank! Swish!

Sounds of blades colliding echoed across the grand hall as Link and Herald's swords cut through wave after wave of the somewhat weak Gerudo monsters. However, while a large amount of the Gerudos were indeed going after Link and his NPC, most of the monsters had focused their attention on the Zelda henchman, who still was tugging and yanking at the door in the main hallway. While most of Ness's recover spells were going directly to the princess, Link and Herald's armor was able to keep them from taking too much damage, giving Marth a few moments to watch the battle from the sidelines without any complaints.

"Life Up Beta! What are you doing just standing there!? Life Up Alpha!" Ness shouted as he healed Zelda once more. "Fight!"

Marth looked over at Ness who was busy pointing his fingers in the direction of his next spell. His gaze then fell over to Zelda, who was now being swamped by the Gerudos. But there was something off about this scene. While Zelda was taking damage, it was considerably less then either Link or Herald's. And it wasn't due to Zelda's PSI shield, since Ness had managed to cast the same ones around Link and himself a moment ago. Their attacking pattern was odd as well, instead of attacking about three strikes at a time, like the Gerudo's were doing with Link and Herald, they were attacking one strike at a time, giving Ness plenty of time to heal the princess. Also, none of the mages were going after the princess, they instead focused their attention on the two Hylian swordsmen in the middle of the room. It was as if the monsters were trying to attack Zelda, but letting Ness quickly heal her afterwards. Not the vigorous attacking they were doing to Link and Herald, and certainly not what AI would be doing if they wanted to kill their target.

"Marth, could you give a little help here?!" Link cried out as he ducked under a blade. With a quick counter swipe he took care of that Gerudo and turned to jab an oncoming mage Gerudo in the chest a moment later.

"Wait! Link, I have an idea!" Marth cried. He then too joined the fray, his blade flashing a light blue. "Dolphin Slash!" His avatar yelled, cutting down a Gerudo spear wielder in a one slice.

Link turned and looked over at Marth. "An idea? What do you mean?"

Marth finished his latest attack and turned to face Link. "Do you remember that hint Peach gave us?" Link's lost look clued to Marth that he didn't. "She said we should take a back seat and let the game's NPC run themselves, especially the suicidal ones."

The Hylian didn't reply. He instead just barely managed to dodge an oncoming arrow in time, spinning about on his heal to face himself in the direction of the archer Gerudo shooting at him. He took out his bow and shot two quick arrows at the Gerudo, killing her instantly. He then turned back to look at Marth, who had just countered an attack. "Yeah, so?"

"What do you think Zelda is?"

"...What are you going at?"

Marth sliced another Gerudo to the ground and turned to look at Link. "Well, think about it. Look at the Gerudos, they're attacking Zelda, but with barely any force. They give Ness plenty of time to heal her. If we'd lose by them killing her, why aren't they attacking more viciously? I think they want Ness to heal Zelda. Not to mention on the other side of the door she's yanking on there is an entire army of Gerudo's marching this way. Why on earth would she be trying to open the door?!"

At first Link didn't seem too pleased with Marth's idea. But after a moment of thinking, his player quickly began to ponder deeper into what Marth had just said. "Hmm... you know, that does sound fishy. And when you throw in the fact that Zelda had completely vanished before..." He dodged another blade, then finished off the attacking beast. "But what you suggest we do about it?"

"Just what Peach said. Take a back seat and don't do anything. Or pretty much, stop healing Zelda!" Link looked surprised at Marth's answer. "I mean, if they want us to heal her, then why should we? We should stop and let them finish her off, like Peach said!" He explained.

"You're kidding me, right?!" Ness yelled from the stairs. "Life Up Beta! That has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

Marth shook his head at the boy after he dodged another attack. "No, I'm not. I have a feeling that if we keep healing her, once that bar reaches zero, we'll lose!"

The 'Door' bar had fallen to around twenty percent.

Ness scoffed at Marth's theory. "Please, like - Life Up Alpha!... an event would ever do that! Link, talk some sense into the newbie!"

But Link didn't reply to Ness. He was instead thinking over the possibilities the team could make. While Link pondered, Marth prepared his blade and charged back into the battle along side Herald, cutting down Gerudo after Gerudo with each swipe. Ness continued to heal the princess, who was still taking small amounts of damage. "Well? What do we do Link?" Marth cried as he and Herald finished off another monster.

Before the Hylian could answer, the background music faded once again and Peach's voice rang out across the field. "Attention all players partaking in Attack on the Castle! Twelve teams have made it to the next round so far. We are still looking for four more teams, so don't give up hope! Good luck!"

Link's face went from calm to panicked. "What do you want to do Link?!" Ness shouted as he cast another heal. "Just tell the newbie whats what and keep fighting!"

"...Wait..."

"Huh?"

Link turned around to Ness and shouted at the psychic, "Ness, stop healing her! Retreat back up the stairs!"

"What?! You're believing him!?" Marth smiled as he heard Ness scream. With a quick flick of his blade, he finished off the monster he was facing and trotted over to Link. The psychic stared down at the two swordsmen for a moment before finally growling in defeat and turning away, scamping back up the long stair case to the balcony. "You better be right about this..."

"So what about us?" Asked Marth once Ness had gotten out of healing range. "Do we stay and fight?"

Link shook his head. "No, let's head back also. Look at the bar, it's almost at zero. My guess is it'll take just as much time for the monsters to finish off Zelda as it will the bar to reach zero. So we'll just let the game decided which course of action to take, either she opening the door or herself getting killed."

"Okay then. Let's go."

Marth and Link ran up the staircase as well and joined Ness in the balcony overlooking the battle scene below. Herald was still in the middle of the swarm of monsters, his blade slicing through beast after beast. But once his AI noticed that the group had pulled away to higher grounds, he began to wade his way through the battle scene and up the staircase as well. His retreating caused a few Gerudo troops to follow him, but they were quickly picked off by an arrow of Link and a PK Thunder from Ness.

Now Zelda was left alone. Without any other targets in their sight, all of the Gerudos quickly turned their attention to Zelda, who was still frantically pulling against the door handles. They watched and waited as the monsters slowly but surely depleted her HP bar, but at a much slower rate then Marth had first thought. By the time Zelda's HP had fallen to half, the 'Door' bar had fallen to ten percent. "Looks like they're not going to be able to kill her off in time..." Link whispered to his team as they watched with anticipation.

But then Marth noticed why they weren't doing alot of damage to the princess, Ness's shield was still protecting her. "Ness your shield." He spoke, pointing to the princess. "It's protecting her."

"Yeah, well I guess something has to keep us from losing!" Ness retorted back.

"Cancel it!"

"NO! I'd rather not lose because of some stupid hunch!"

"Ness..." The boy turned to look at Link, who's eyes were busy staring at the battle scene below him. "Please, just take it off. We don't have time for this."

After a moment of growling, Ness finally closed his eyes and side. He then brought his right index finger up to the brim of his hat, causing it to shine brightly gold. A moment later, Ness pointed towards Zelda, causing a pulse of energy to shoot out from the princess, followed by the sound of glass breaking. "There it's gone..." He muttered once the spell had been canceled. "We've lost."

Link shook his head. "Not yet..."

With the shield gone, Zelda began to take a bit more damage then before, but no where near the amount that Link and Marth had taken while they battled the Gerudos. But to the onlookers, it wasn't clear if her HP would expire before that of the 'Door' bar. The fight continued on though, and her health bar continued to drop. Link watched patiently,his face devoid of emotion. Ness stood at his side with his arms cross, muttering a few curses under his breath. Marth on the other hand, clenched his fists tight hoping for the best. Zelda in the meantime, refused to call out any random phrases of pain, instead focusing all her energy on opening the door.

But then it came. Just as the 'Door' bar hit two percent, Zelda let out an ear-piercing screech as her HP dropped to zero. The trio watched as Zelda's body fell to the floor with a thud, stopping the Gerudos from attacking. Once they had stopped, the screen went black and another cutscene began to play.

The camera shifted to the main floor of the castle, where Link and Herald were in the middle of an epic battle against the Gerudos. Marth and Ness were off in the background, not in a fight, but in their fighting positions. Link and Herald were both swinging their blades about when the loud cry of Zelda once again rang out across the field. The two Hylians turned to see Zelda fall to the ground, in slow motion for dramatic game effect. It took them a moment to realize what had just happened, but soon Link's computerized character cried out, "ZELDAAAA!"

The swordsmen ran over to the fallen princess and quickly slashed away the Gerudo's surrounding her body. Once they were in the clear, Link fell to his knees and began to shake Zelda in a vain attempt to rouse the princess. "Princess! Princess!" Herald cried as well as he watched Link shake the body.

Somehow, Marth and Ness managed to defeat the rest of the Gerudo forces, because all of the monsters disappeared from the cutscene as Link rocked the body of Zelda in his arms. Gentle, sad music with chimes began to play as the game showed each of the party members staring down at Zelda, a look of despair crossing their faces. "She's gone..." Link finally whispered after a few moments, letting the body slip from his hands. "We've failed..."

However, as Zelda's body slid back to the floor of the castle, her eyes shot wide open. But these weren't her normal eyes, instead of their normal blue color, her eyes were glowing a deep crimson. The four men noticed Zelda's eyes and quickly took a step back from her body. When they did, a dark aura surrounded Zelda, completely covering her body in darkness. "What is this new devilry?!" Herald cried out, raising his massive sword.

By the time the four had retreated a few feet away, the darkness surrounding Zelda's body exploded into a raging fit of fire, quickly setting the carpet beneath their feet ablaze. Tapestry on the wall and other flammable items quickly began to erupt in flames as well. From where Zelda's body once laid shot out another pillar of fire, this one taking on the shape of a creature. The pillar had no feet, it's legs were a column of fire. However, this beast had two arms of fire, in it's right hand it gripped tightly what looked like a sword. A little ways up, the flames turned into what looked like a head, complete with loose burning strands of fire for hair, and two emerald green eyes in the center of the face. "FOOLS!" It bellowed as it appeared. "WHY DID YOU KILL THE GIRL!? SHE WAS TO OPEN THE GATE FOR YOU!"

The music quickly changed to the heart pounding theme they had heard outside the castle as Link, Marth and Ness lifted their weapons for battle. Herald did the same, speaking quietly to the group, "It's her... one of the goddess... Din."

Din let out a loud growl that shook the entire palace like an earthquake. Once the tremor stopped, Link turned and asked the Hylian NPC, "How do we defeat a god?!"

Herald looked around the chamber carefully, the camera following his gaze. It soon fell upon three barrels that had rolled out from some unseen room onto the top balcony. "Those jugs of water!" He announced, pointing to the magic barrels. "Weaken her first, then use the water jugs to reduce her flames! It's the only way!"

Din turned and looked down at the group of players now opposing her, causing her flames to shoot out even more. "YOU SHALL SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE FLAME GODDESS, LITTLE ONES!"

With one final roar the cutscene ended and control was returned to the three players. The final boss had appeared before them, and she was quickly preparing to cut down the awaiting party. "Damn it, the newbie was right?"

"Ha!"

"Watch it everybody!" Link shouted as Din swung her sword across the floor.

Wherever her blade hit soon erupted into flames, burning away the carpet that was covering the ground. She pulled back her blade and with her free hand shot out three large fireballs, one each at Link, Ness and Herald. Link managed to raise his shield in time to bounce the fireball back upwards and take minimal damage, causing it to disappear as it's flames ran out. Herald tried to dodge his attack, but his NPC was far too sluggish and the fireball smashed right into the Hylian, being the first attack to deal any real damage to the warrior's HP bar. As for Ness, just as the fireball was about to strike the boy, he cried out a new technique, PSI Magnet Alpha, which caused a blue shield of PSI energy to surround his body. The fireball touched the shield and vanished, his MP and HP recovering slightly upon doing so.

After the fireballs, Din swung her sword across the floor of the castle once more. Marth was the only player really in danger, but he managed to do a backflip out of the way of the flames as she finished her attack. Once done, she brought her sword back up to her side and waited.

"What do we do Link?" Marth asked as Din paused. "She's not attacking."

Link didn't answer, instead he charged in and began to slash the bottom of Din's flame column with his sword relentlessly. "Don't you play any games? PK Thunder Beta!" Ness cried, shooting an orb of thunder at the monster. "This is the part when we attack her to get her HP down!"

"I know that!" Marth replied with a shout, turning around to charge at Din. He managed to join Link in slashing Din's base for a few moments before Din let out another angry growl. Following the growl, Din let out a pulse of flames that pushed Link and Marth backwards and dealt about fifty damage to the both of them. Ness quickly healed the two with Life Up spells a moment later.

After they recovered from their attack the group noticed something grim - they did no damage to the monsters HP bar whatso ever. "We didn't hurt it?" Link asked in disbelief as Din prepared to attack once more.

"What about those water jugs." Marth asked once Din began to swing her sword again. The entire group was far out of the way of her attack. "Aren't they suppose to be used?"

Link looked up at the barrels that had magically appeared after the cutscene. He thought it over for a moment, then took out his bow and shot an arrow directly into the closest barrel. It shattered the wooden container, sending the water inside falling down onto Din. She let out another roar, this one of pain and quickly began to rock back and forth. "Don't you just love conveniently placed items?" Link asked with a grin. The Hylian lifted his sword and charged forward, calling back to the other two to attack.

Marth, followed closely behind by Herald began to hack and slash at the base of the huge fire beast. The game didn't give them a whole lot of time to attack the boss, but each swipe of their blades across the firey monster reduced the large HP bar that now dominated the top of their screens. After about twenty seconds, Din let out a roar and spun around in a circle, sending a wall of fire to blast up from her base and smash into the three swordsmen. Their avatars shouted in pain as they tumbled backwards, their HP bar quickly falling.

"Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta!" Ness shouted, healing Marth and Link quickly. Another shout of his spell healed the large NPC at their side. "PSI Shield Beta! PSI Shield Beta!"

"Move back to where Ness is." Link commanded, turning away from the monster. "I don't think she can reach us back there."

Marth nodded and followed the Hylian, the three of them retreating back to where the psychic was. They watched as Din continued to swing her sword back and forth across the ground, causing small waves of lava to shoot up from the castle's floor. But regardless of how the monster swung her blade, no swipe of her sword or lava wave managed to even come close to the four. Marth smirked after seeing Din's reach could only go so far. "Ha, good idea Link! This battle should be pretty-"

The blue haired swordsman couldn't finish his sentence. Just as he spoke, Din's blade suddenly grew longer and thinner, and with a loud crack sound that sounded like boulders being smashed, Din's new fire whip slashed across all four of the warriors hiding beyond her reach. Each one of their avatars cried in pain as a good chuck of their HP bars disappeared, and their characters were knocked back against the castle's wall.

"Ugh... nevermind..." Ness was the first of the four to stand back up. He quickly cast a healing spell on himself, followed closely by a shield. Right after that, the boy raced over to the other side of the castle, leaving the other three behind as they stumbled to their feet. "That was sure nice of you..." Marth grumbled as he stood up.

"Rather me die and have you guys be screwed? I didn't think so! Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta!"

After her latest attack, Din froze once more. After Ness protected Marth and Link with shields, the Hylian took out his bow and shot another arrow at the second barrel. The water poured from the splintered jug and fell ontop of the beast, causing the monster to let out another cry of pain. But as the water evaporated, the party noticed something they hadn't before - Din was shrinking. At first, the fire monster was as tall as the large chamber itself. But now, Din had shrunk to be only a few feet above their heads.

The party didn't have time to celebrate though, as Din's immobile state only lasted a short while. Marth, Link and Herald quickly ran forward and began to slash their blades violently at the burning flames that made up Din's base. While Marth and Link constantly managed to deal small, frequent blows to her HP bar, Herald's massive sword took chunks away from the bosses life, causing Din to cry out in pain after each swipe of his blade. "Dolphin Slash!" Shouted Marth's avatar as his glowing blue blade sliced through the flames. Once his attack finished the swordsman shouted out to his party, "Looks like she is down to less than half health!"

Link nodded as he continued to swipe at the monster. "Yeah, keep it up! We're almost done with her!"

The swordsman continued their attacks, aided twice by an orb of PK Thunder. After about forty seconds of relentless swipes and stabs, the room began to shake and the three swordsmen quickly took the cue to back away. "GYAAAAAH!" Shouted the beast, thrusting out it's fire arm like limbs. As it did, another wave of lava came shooting out across the chamber, this one much faster then the one previous. It also went further, but since the three had pulled away earlier, the lava wall fizzled out and disappeared before it reached them. But the beast wasn't done yet. Once the lava had disappeared, Din's sword transformed into a whip which was held in her left hand, while her right hand was pointing out towards the party.

With another echoing growl, Din begin her final relentless attack. With her left hand, she began to lash about the chamber wildly with her whip, causing everything it smashed into to burst into flames. With her right hand, fireballs starting shooting out in random directions across the room, causing the entire chamber to begin to burn and limit the party's movement. "This isn't good." Said Link as he ducked under a lash of Din's whip. "I can't see the last jug of water! The fire and smoke is obscuring my avatar's vision!"

"Well don't look at me, I can't move from this spot." Ness spoke calmly as his blue PSI Magnet continued to turn the fireballs into harmless sparkles. "If I leave this shield for too long, I'd be toast with my defense."

"Then what are we going to do..."

"Gah!"

Link glanced to his left just in time to see Herald get struck with Din's whip, taking about about half of Herald's remaining health bar. "Guess we don't want to get hit with that huh..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red mushroom, tossing it over in Herald's direction. It exploded in the air and as it did, a small portion of Herald's HP was recovered. "Okay. Marth, I need you to do me a-" Link paused for a moment as he blocked an oncoming fireball with his shield. The Hylian was pushed back a small ways by the force, but the flames quickly fizzled out and the flaming sphere disappeared. "...A favor, okay?"

"Sure, what is it?!" Marth asked as he rolled out of the way of a slash of Din's burning whip.

"Get up those stairs and tip the water jug onto Din! I can't shoot it with all this smoke!"

Marth nodded and was about to head over to the stairs when a crack of a burning whip and a near missing fireball caused him to think otherwise. "I'll never be able to make it up there if she's attacking like this!"

The Hylian glanced at Marth, who's blade was raised in a vain attempt to protect himself from the fiery whip, then at Ness who was busy shielding himself from the fireballs. "Okay then..."

Marth stared at Link, awaiting for his reply. But instead, Marth watched in shock as Link pushed off from the wall he was pressing against and charged forward, dodging whip smashes and fireballs with his sword and shield raised for combat. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Both Marth and Ness shouted in unison.

"Marth, get to the water jug now! Oh, and try not to die!" Link shouted as his Hylian figure became distorted by the smoke. From what the other two could see, Link was standing at the base of Din, with the fiery deity looking down at the swordsman. Suddenly, a strange blue glow covered Link's body, causing his avatar to let out a low grunt. At the same time, three blue orbs appeared around Din's forehead, two on either side and one directing in her line of sight. The glow and the orbs only lasted for a second, but when they vanished, Din's wild attacks came to a halt and an strange pause fell about the room. "What are you waiting for? Go! Now!" Link cried, glancing back to see if Marth had moved.

"Uh, su-sure." Replied the swordsman, turning from the battle scene to run towards the stairs. However, just as Marth reached the stairs and began to climb up towards the barrel, the room began to shake violently. Marth quickly grasped the handrail for balanced and turned around to see Din's body shaking furiously, as well as a low growling sound slowing getting louder. Within moments, Din began to shake back and forth wildly, letting out a tremendous roar that completely paralyzed Marth in his tracks, and caused Din's eyesight to fall directly upon the Hylian once her violent shaking ceased.

It took Ness a moment, but with a shocked gasp he called out to Link asking, "Did... Did you just use focus?!"

"Focus?" Marth repeated confused.

"Marth, what are you doing?! Go, now, while I have her attention!" Shouted Link, his eyes locked in a stare with Din. The flame goddess was lifting her hands above her head, a large red orb of fire steadily growing larger and larger between them. She was preparing for her next attack.

Marth nodded and stumbled to his feet, trying to make it up the long flight of stairs and over to the water jug as fast as he could. "You're insane Link! Using focus on a boss!" Ness cried.

Link stood helplessly infront of the boss, watching as the orb grew larger and larger. Then, with a quick thrust, she fired the orb towards Link. But it wasn't just a fireball. Instead, it was a blast of flames, almost as wide as the entire castle room, soaring directly at Link. However, the Hylian was prepared for this attack. Before the blast of fire struck him, he flung his arms out to he side, causing a little yellow star with black eyes to float up infront of his chest, disappearing a moment later. Suddenly, the music in the area changed to a repeating, techno type tune and Link's body was covered in sparkles and rainbow colors. The blast of flames struck the Hylian dead on, but instead of roasting him alive, the flames parted harmlessly to the left and right as it continued to crash into him. Link had immunity, but only for a short time.

"His adrenaline bar?" Ness asked in slight disbelief. "I forgot he had that."

"Ness!" Shouted Link from within the flames. "I'm counting on your heal spells here! This won't last forever!"

The psychic nodded and pointed his glowing fingers in the direction of the Hylian, preparing to heal at the first sign of his life decreasing. Above the battle, Marth managed to make it to the top floor of the castle, and quickly began to race over to where the final barrel of water was sitting. He imputed the command to push, and Marth tried to push the barrel over the edge to crash onto Din. But it wouldn't move an inch.

"What's taking so long!" Cried Link from below, still standing in the middle of the beam of flames.

With another push, Marth called out to the others, "It won't budge! I can't get it over the edge!"

"WHAT?!"

No sooner did Link yell did the immunity jingle stop playing. Link's adrenaline bar had reached it's end and he was no longer protected from the inferno blasting his avatar. Link let out a loud cry of pain as the fire continued to blast against his unprotected body, draining away his HP bar faster then any other spell or attack Marth had ever seen before. At his side, Ness continued to cry out, "Life-Up Alpha! Life-Up Beta! Life-Up Gamma! Life-Up Alpha! Life-Up-Beta! Life-Up Gamma!" But it was to no use, Ness's cures weren't healing at a rate that could keep Link's health bar from falling as the flames battered his body.

Marth continued to push relentlessly as Link and Ness fought to stay alive down below but nothing was working. Nothing he could do could push it off. Then, suddenly, Marth slapped his forehead. "Oh, yeah. Duh." The swordsman then reached for his blade and with a quick slash, the barrel broke in two and the water inside came pouring down upon Din, splashing into the flame goddess and causing her to cry out in pain.

With Din crying out in pain, the blast of fire came to a stop. Once it did, both Link and Ness collapsed to the floor, their characters completely exhausted from the recent ordeal. Marth too seemed lightly tired from the long fight and was about to sit down when he noticed that Herald was charging into battle. It was no time to rest - Din was still alive and her flames were starting to come back alive. "Oh no! Guys!" Marth shouted, jumping down from the top floor of the castle to where Link and Ness were resting.

He landed near the two and ran over to the them as Herald began to swing his massive sword at Din, crying out; "This is for Princess Zelda!"

"Can you two move?" Asked Marth. Link and Ness both tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground a moment later. "I'll take that as a no."

"Damn Nintendo, not releasing any item to counter exhaustion..." Ness muttered.

Marth charged towards Din and joined with Herald to finish off the boss. Herald's massive blade were more then enough to take chunks out of Din's already weakened health bar. "This is for Princess Zelda!" He cried again, slashing his sword across Din's chest, causing MAJOR DAM of 250.

"Take this!" Marth shouted as he stabbed his blade deep through Din's chest. It depleted her remaining HP, causing the game to freeze for a moment, then to show Din shaking violent, crying out in pain as she slowly began to somehow explode from the inside out. About ten seconds later, Din had exploded into nothing, and the screen faded to darkness as another cutscene began to play itself out.

"Nooo! It's not possible! I'm a god!" Cried Din as she fell to the ground.

The camera zoomed out to show the rest of the party, and although it was Marth who finished off the beast, the game had put Link in the position that made it seem he had done her in. He withdrew his sword and kneeled down to look into Din's half closed eyes. Without her fire, she had the figure of a woman, just her body looked as if it was made of charcoal instead of flesh. "We have defeated you!" Link spoke in a tone that was unlike his normal happy self. "Where is Princess Zelda?! Is she with your vile sisters? I will send them to meet you soon enough!"

Although Din was barely cling to life, she began to chuckle. "She's gone. Gone far away by now, little one."

"Where is she?" Herald demanded, leaning down to join Link. "Where have your foul followers taken her?"

"Into the Underground Labyrinth of Koridai, little one." She replied with a weak cackle. "A place so vile, so dangerous, no one has been able to face the evils that lay within."

Link let out an angry growl but Herald spoke up to calm the Hylian. "The Underground Labyrinth of Koridai... there is an entrance not far from here, in our castle's dungeon."

Without a moment to spare, Link jumped to his feet. "We must go now! Take us there Herald."

Herald nodded and turned to leave, but as he did Din spoke up once more. "You'll never make it in time, little one. You will never save your princess now."

The Hylian swordsman glared down at the dying creature infront of them. "We will stop your creature's vial ways. And we will defeat them at all costs. We will save Princess Zelda." Link then withdrew his sword and with a quick thrust, stabbed Din through the chest one final time, causing her to cry out in pain.

"It burns, little one, it burns!" She shouted, but quickly followed it up with a haunting cackle as her body slowly turned to dark dust on the floor of the castle.

Once gone, Link pulled up his sword, flicked off some of the dust left on the blade and returned it upon his back. Herald reached out and placed on a hand on the boy's shoulder and said quietly, "You shouldn't soil your blade on such an unworthy creature."

"Take us to the entrance, now! We must save her!"

Herald nodded and turned to leave through the left entrance way. "Come, the dungeon is only a stones throw away."

The screen faded to black and soon returned to the castle. "Aw man, I thought we were done with this part!" Marth said once the cutscene had ended. "There's more?!"

Link managed to stand, as did Ness. The cutscene ended their exhaustion. "Seems that way." Agreed Link. "There can't be much more though. Ness, use an item and let's keep moving." Link took out a mushroom, which restored his HP to about half. Ness took out a star rod which also restored his MP to about half. Without another word, Link turned and ran down the pathway. Ness soon followed, leaving Marth alone in the chamber.

--

...Link sure is acting strange. I thought he'd be all, 'Good going Marth!', 'You saved us Marth!', 'Way to go!'.

Or even just a 'Good work guys.' Would have been nice.

I wonder what's up with him...

--

The group made their way through what seemed like the castle's main dining hall, through a couple of hall ways and down a few flights of stairs with only two monster encounters, both of which were single Gerudo wizards, who's magic did barely any damage to the protected team. Finally, they found themselves infront of a wooden door, that looked as if it had been standing for ages. Upon touching the door handle two Gerudo monsters spawned, both jumping towards Ness to pick off the healer. They were easily taken care of though, Herald's massive blade crippled one so Link could finish it off with two bow shots, while Marth used three Dolphin Slash's in a row to take down the other.

"That was hopefully the last spawn of monsters." Ness spoke as Marth finished off the Gerudo. "Let's get on to the next part already!"

Link reached up and touched the handle to the door, which caused another cutscene to begin to play.

After the screen went black, it showed Herald opening the door and allowing the team to enter the dungeon. It then faded away to darkness again. When the picture was restored, the party was no longer within the walls of Hyrule Castle, but instead running through a dark, blue-green cave, lined only by a few torches. "Hurry, the Labyrinth is up ahead." Herald announced as they continued forward.

However, they were stopped in their tracks by a sound in the distance behind them. The group turned to see that there were a group of torches ganging quickly on them. It could mean only one things, "The Gerudos are following us." Link spoke with a nervous tone. "We'll never make it."

The camera zoomed in on Herald and in the background a slow, sad song began to play. It was kept on Herald for a moment or so until he finally spoke up, "Go on ahead."

"What?!"

"You heard me, go on ahead. Your princess needs you."

Link looked over at Herald like he was crazy. "Yes, and the Princess needs you. Now let's hurry!"

Herald shook his head. "As you said, we'll never make it in time. Please, go."

"You'll never be able to take them all!"

"I'm aware."

"Then why stay!"

Herald looked down at his hand and paused. "Because... my Princess gave me a gift of a second life. I am in her debt. It is not something you can get from anyone, you know..."

Link shook his head. "Then why throw it away!"

"It will not be thrown away if I can give my life to protect what is worth protecting." Herald turned around to look Link in the eye as the music continued to play even louder. "If there is someone you treasure, you should protect them. And by me staying here, I can ensure you will save our precious person. Please, now, go."

"Don't do this Herald!"

Herald didn't answer Link. Instead he took out his massive sword and began to swing it back and forth, smashing it against the blue-green stone walls of the cave, causing it to start to shake. "Go! The entrance to the Labyrinth is not far now! I will hold them here. Save Princess Zelda!"

"He's causing the cave to collapse... Herald!"

But as Link cried out, the rocks began to collapse infront of them, blocking the pathway between Link, Ness and Marth and their NPC friend on the other side. Once they had been completely cut off, the cave stopped its shaking and Link fell to his knees. "Herald! HERALD!"

The cutscene panned around to show Herald standing against the newly formed wall with his eyes shut tightly closed. "Princess Zelda..." He whispered. "I'm sorry if it seems that I wasted your precious gift you gave me. I am so sorry I could not be there to rescue you. It feels as if I failed you today..." He turned around and opened his eyes to see the huge group of mind-controlled Gerudo's have all by reached his location. Herald then reached to his side and pulled up his massive sword and prepared himself for battle. "But if I do not stop these creatures, I know I will be a failure... And still... even if I can give the others a head start, no matter how small... the perhaps... I did not fail you as badly, my princess."

The Gerudo's reached Herald and paused infront of him, the leader of the tribe stepping forward to speak. "And who are you?" She spoke, glaring at the Hylian. "Are you here to stop us?" She asked, causing the rest of the tribe to laugh and cackle.

Herald pointed his sword at the tribe's leader and spoke calmly, "My name is Herald VonHelick. And I am the last thing you will see before your death."

"GET HIM!"

The Gerudos all lunged forward at Herald, who gritted his teeth and prepared for battle.

The camera cut back around to the other side of the wall. Link was on his knees, in complete shock over what Herald had just done. "Herald... why would you have done that for us..." He spoke quietly. He was snapped out of his thoughts quickly by a loud thud. He, as well as Ness and Marth all looked up to the wall and noticed some dust and small stones were starting to fall from it. "They're starting to break through..." Said Link, standing to his feet. "...Quickly, we must go! Let's go!"

The screen faded to darkness. A moment later it showed the trio leaving the small cave passageway and entering a large cavern. Marth and Ness's faces were overcome by shock and Link could only speak four words, "The Labyrinth of Koridai..."

The camera moved out to show they were standing ontop of a ledge that overlooked a giant, winding maze that spanned the entire length of the giant cavern, made up of the same blue-green stone the rest of the cavern was made of. Along the sides of the cavern were lakes that glowed an eerie light blue, which were bright enough to light up the cave. In the far distance, a huge amount of blue light was shinning from what looked to be an idol of some sort, although it was too far away for any of them to make out what it was. "Over there." Link said, pointing to the large idol like object. "If Zelda is anywhere... she is there."

With that, the camera faded to black.

**LOADING INTO LABYRINTH OF KORIDAI. PLEASE WAIT . . .**

--

"We made it!" Was the first thing Marth shouted upon loading into the area. "Haha, good job everyone!"

Link sighed a long sigh of relief, and fell to the ground . "Yes... we did." With a dopey grin he continued, "I was worried there for a moment."

"That cutscene was so typical of a JRPG..." Ness glanced about the area. "So, who else is here?"

The area was just where the cutscene had dropped them off, the ledge overlooking the large, seemingly endless labyrinth. However, they were no longer alone, as a bunch of other players could be see chatting with each other, or busy resupplying themselves with one of the two merchant NPCs that had mysteriously somehow gotten here with them.

"Link! Ness! Marth! Sure did take your sweet time, huh?" The trio turned around to see Luigi smiling and waving at them, with Mario and Rosalina following closely behind. "Hey guys."

Link smiled at their friends. "Hey guys. Long time no see, huh?"

Luigi chuckled to himself and nodded as Rosalina took over the conversation. "Certainly cutting close, aren't you three?" She asked with a small smile. "We're only waiting for one more team you know."

"Hehe, sorry about that. We got caught up with the NPC Zelda."

"I figured most players would. So, I take it you remembered what I said?"

Link nodded, then pointed at Marth. "All thanks to Marth over there."

"Yup, all thanks to me." Marth replied with a blush. "And no thanks to Ness, who tried to keep her alive!"

"What did you just say?!"

Marth, Luigi, Mario and Rosalina all chuckled at Ness's reaction, at which Ness just turned away and stomped off. Link didn't seem all too thrilled, and just remained quiet, staring over at Rosalina. She took notice of his strange behavior and asked the Hylian, "Something wrong, Link?"

"Hm? Oh, no nothing." Link replied with a smile. "Just thinking..."

Mario crossed his arms and glanced over to his right, towards a group of players who were sitting among some rocks. "Well, if you want something to think about... look who just showed up a little bit before you did."

All eyes turned to the right to examine the group of players. Most of them were just normal players, no one Link or Marth recognized. But standing off the far right of the group, there was a mysterious cloaked figure with a bold number six on it's forehead. Upon seeing the figure, the smiles fell from everyone's face as they stared at the hacker who was likely staring back. "So... he made it too, huh..." Link barely whispered, standing up. "I'm not going to pretend and say I didn't think he would, but..."

"And I don't mean to bring you guys any other trouble, but..." This time it was Luigi, who was glancing towards the left. Everyone's eyes followed Luigi and were surprised to see another cloaked figured, but this one in a dark brown cloak, sitting on a rock. "Cloaks are awfully suspicious, don't you agree?"

"I wouldn't worry about that one, though." Rosalina announced, looking away. "Brown cloaks are legitimate items. It could just be a high level player not wanting to give away their job."

Luigi shrugged. "I guess thats true, sorry..."

"So, who else made it here?" Marth asked, turning back to look at Rosalina.

Peach's avatar shook its head. "Oh, I'm not sure, I haven't checked in a while. However, since both our teams made it, we're in good shape."

"Yeah, double the chance of one of us facing off against the Warlock." Mario added.

Link nodded. "So, how is this part of the event going to work?"

"Well you see- Oh!" Rosalina jumped slightly. "One moment please."

Rosalina continued to stare at Link, but it was clear that her player had stepped away from the game for the moment. "Did you guys have a hard time?" Asked Marth, trying to break the silence.

"Not really, pretty easy when you have the legendary hero himself, and the person who made the event on your team." Answered a chuckling Luigi. "Kinda hard to screw up."

"Sorry about that." The healer moved slightly to show she had returned to the game. "It appears the last team had arrived. I had to shut off this area and make the announcement to the other players that we have all the required teams. Anyway Link, you were asking what was the plan?" The Hylian nodded at Rosalina. "Well, I'm about to explain the rules of this part of the event, anyway, so if you could just wait for that it might clear things up. The point is that we need to find the Warlock, defeat him in PVP, and then I will transfer his character to a holding cell, where he can not log out and I can access files on his computer."

"Alright then. Any way you can put him against us right off the bat?" Link asked, to which Rosalina shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. If I tamper with the code now, this whole area could become corrupted and characters who aren't protected, like yourselves, will lose their data."

Marth frowned. "Oh, thats too bad. But no problem, we'll take him down, won't we Link?!" When Link didn't answer, Marth gave his avatar a little nudge. "Right?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was thinking again..."

"It's not like you to think, you know."

He grinned. "I know, it isn't."

Rosalina let out a low giggle, then bowed to her friends. "I have to go log onto Peach now to make the announcement. Please make sure you pay attention, I only plan on going over it once, okay?" The four other boys nodded and Rosalina fell slightly limp once more as her player logged onto Peach.

Without warning, fireworks and confetti fell from the sky. A spotlight came down off the side of the large cliff, which quickly drew the sixteen teams attention. Then, floating down from seemingly nowhere, Peach appeared to the teams, smiling and waveing as they cheered her arrival. Once the cheering had stopped, Peach extended her arm into the sky and with a large smile on her face, greeted the remaining. "Congratulations, finalists!" She shouted in a cheerful tone. "Out of nearly three hundred teams, you sixteen teams, or you forty-eight talented players, have made it to the second stage of Attack on the Castle!" The crowd began to cheer, among them Marth, who was thrusting his fist in the air and chanting out Peach's name. "Now, I think it's fair to say, the real event will begin!"

After another cheer, Peach began to explain the story. "The foul creatures have taken your princess and escaped into the Labyrinth of Koridai! As we speak, they are preparing to sacrifice Zelda to their forbidden gods at the end of this large, underground maze! But you see, the beasts have set up a barrier! This barrier can only be broken by gathering four Mythical Masks of the Koridai, known as the Faces of Evil! Only when the four Faces of Evil are gathered at the gate of the end of this labyrinth will you be allowed to enter the Twilight Realm and fight these beasts!"

The crowd clapped and chanted as Peach finished the story of the game, but fell silent when she began to explain how the event will take place. "Now, as you may have known, this part of the game will be PVP, or Player Verses Player. The idea of this part of the event is to enter the labyrinth in search of the four Faces of Evil. Each team will be given one Face of Evil, but in order to gain four, you must defeat three other teams in the maze! You will need to search through-out this maze for other players, but you must be careful, because in the end, only four teams will make it to the Twilight Realm for the final leg of the race!"

While the crowd cheered once more, Link brought his hand to his chin and stroked it in thought. "Hmm... so we need to take down other teams for the masks, huh? I guess this is what Peach had in mind, if we need four, I'm sure one of us will run into the hacker..."

"If you happen to have more then one Face of Evil on you when you are defeated, do not despair! So long as you have one Face of Evil, you can return to the start of the labyrinth and continue once again! This game will end once four teams have gathered four masks, so don't give up until the very end! But do not think that your fellow players are your only foe awaiting you within the maze, my friends. So be prepared for any tricks and traps the Labyrinth of Koridai may throw at you!" After some clapping, she continued. "I noticed that, while this event is the most challenging of its time, being kind to our loyal players is always something that we must put first! So feel free to rest and relax for fifteen minutes until the next part begins. Also, please resupply on any items you may have lost during the first leg of the event with the NPC Merchant located to the left of the cave." Although there were some boos, most of the crowd still cheered as she finished up.

"So, once again, congratulations to all of you for making it this far. You have proven that each and every one of you can stand above the rest in one way or another. But remember, my friends, there can only be one Legendary Hero!"

With that, Peach began to ascend into the sky once more, disappearing into the cave's ceiling as the crowd continued to cheer. Once she was gone, the chanting stopped and players quickly spread back out to go take care with whatever plans they had prior to the start. Marth glanced over at his companion. "Got any ideas of what to do for fifteen minutes?"

Link lowered his hand and shrugged. "Resupply, I suppose. Buy some 'shrooms for your HP. Other then that... I guess do somethin- waah!" While he was speaking, the Hylian turned to leave, only to be pulled back by Marth's quick grab.

"Oh no Link. Tell me, whats wrong with you? You haven't been the same since the castle. What happened? Did I do something?"

Link turned around and smiled. "No, no. I'm just, well, worried about all this stuff that is going down right now. Thats all..."

"You sure did fool me. Tell me whats up, c'mon."

After a moment or so, Link let out a sigh knowing there was no way out of it, and sat down on the edge of the cliff. "Alright, fine..."

"Good!" Marth said, plopping down next to the Hylian. "So what's the matter?"

Link stared out over the great maze for a bit, staring at the light blue ponds illuminating the entire area. After a few seconds, he sighed again and began to talk. "It's... It's you and Ness. I mean, the way you guys act around each other."

"What do you mean? If it's about when I snap at him then yeah, I mean look at the way he treats me!"

"I know, I know..." Muttered Link, hanging his head low. "But the thing is... Ness is well... He's never been able to warm up to people easily."

"So thats a reason to treat me like that?" Marth asked, crossing his arms.

"Of course not. But, I mean... well..." He looked over at Marth with a sad smile on his face. "The three of us... we're companions on this mission together. This mission to get to Zelda first. This mission to stop and capture the hacker... this mission to save Super Smash Brothers Online from Master Hand. Can't you two just... for the sake of our mission... well, atleast try to tolerate each other?"

Marth sighed and looked away pouting. "Well, I could tolerate him easily, but the thing is, he always starts with me!"

"Could you just, maybe... ignore him, or something when he acts that way? I'm sure he'd sooner or later... well, I'm sure he'll stop soon."

"I guess I could, but why does it matter? I mean, this is just a game after all. I mean its not like we know each other in real life, I don't think it's that big of a deal if I don't like him. After all, we're only 'companions' in a game."

Link sighed once more. "Isn't that enough of a reason, then?" Marth looked over at Link with a very confused look on his face. "I mean, if we're companions here, shouldn't we act like them? I guess no one can tell you have to play the game, thats one of the perks of an online game... but, just because its a game, does that mean you shouldn't try to befriend your companion?"

--

Sitting here, listening to Link talk about companions and friends...

Well it didn't make alot of sense to me. I mean, this is just a game after all, I should be free to chose how I act.

But still... if we're companions, we should atleast try to act like them, atleast in the game. I suppose...

"Alright." I finally say with a sigh. I saw Link's face light up as he looked at me with a huge grin. "I still have no idea what you meant by that, but if it'll keep you from being depressing in the game, then I'll do it."

"Really?! That's great Marth! Thanks!" There is that grin again...

Heh. Link. What a strange guy... who would have thought that people like him would play a game like this...

--

Marth stood up and glanced about the area. "So, what should we do now? We still have about ten minutes left?"

Link joined his friend in standing and two began to glance about the cliff. "I'm going to go stock up on some supplies then. I'm sure Ness has already gotten some Star Rods and such. And since you made me very happy, I'll buy you some items for you too!"

"Uh, you really don't-"

"I insist Marth! So why don't you go check out the other teams that made it. Maybe someone else we know got this far."

The human swordsman nodded. "Hey, not a bad idea. Alright, cool, I'll meet up with you two in a bit then!" Link and Marth waved to one another, then set off in opposite directions to fulfill their goals. Once the two were out of chatting distance, Marth stopped walking and began to think to himself. "Companions... huh."

CONTINUE...?


	22. LOGIN 21

Disclaimer: SSB, Nintendo, and all the other video game references and characters do not belong to me, although I wish they did. They belong to their respected companies and creators. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.

A/N: Hello everyone. Another chapter that was born out of the sheer need to make this story even longer then it is! You know what that means right?! YES! My fanfic has officially become everyone other episode of InuYasha and Pokemon! I believe this is a cause for celebrations. Anyway, I have a feeling this chapter is gonna seem a bit shorter then normal. It's also, in my opinion, one of the worse chapters. I don't know, theres just something about this one that was... eh. Anyway, bout it seeming short... Sorry about that, but I was afraid if I didn't cut it off where I did I wouldn't have enough for a next chapter or so. I hope you enjoy the chapter, we're getting close to the end of part one!

Also, does anyone know a place where you can get a cheap GameBridge? I've been meaning to get up a couple of my replays cause some of them are odd (Such as the one my friend and I were doing during the first night it came out. Strange, strange match) Thanks!

2 Months Later: ... Um... Yeah... turns out playing online games is a bit more fun then writing about them. Sorry about that everyone. My bad XD Good news: The next chapter is already underway: I cut off the last parts of this chapter and made them the first parts of the next. So yey :D

Dedication Note: I dedicate this chapter to all the members of Fanny Pak, the REAL America's Best Dance Crew. DAMN YOU MUSICAL TELEVISION AND YOUR NEED TO START COASTAL DRAMA! Bleh. Oh, Kaba Modern can come play too. Cause they both kilt it. fo real.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #21: Calm Before**

--

-Labyrinth of Koridai-

Marth looked about the small group of sixteen teams that had made it to the finals, trying to make out the player of any character he knew. "Hm, it doesn't look like anyone got here..." He muttered to himself, walking forward. As he walked, some more players loaded into his vision, and his gloomy look quickly became cheerful. "Oh! Hey guys!" On the other side of the cave, Kirby and their party member Little Mac were both staring downwards. Upon hearing Marth cry out to them, the two turned around and Kirby waved to the approaching swordsman. "Awesome, I was worried you three wouldn't get here in time! I'm glad you guys made- uh..."

Marth stopped mid-sentance upon seeing what the two were looking at. There, on the floor, eyes streaming tears, was a crying Jigglypuff. "WAAH! WAAAAAAAH!" She cried, letting out a surprising shrill shriek that, thankfully, couldn't be heard until another player got close to them. "I'M TERRIBLE! I'M HORRIBLE!" She shouted through tears.

"Um... what happened to her?" Marth asked Kirby, who sighed in reply.

"Well, you see..." He started, turning to look at the swordsman. "You know how Zelda... was suppose to die?"

"Yeah."

"Well..."

"I AM THE WORST HEALER EVER!" Shouted Jigglypuff as she fell face first onto the cave floor, tears flowing from her eyes like two waterfalls.

"...we kinda... didn't let it happen on purpose..."

"I COULDN'T HEAL HEEER! I'M TERRIBLE! TEEEEERRIBLE!"

Kirby and Little Mac sighed once again while Marth gave a small laugh while rubbing the back of his blue hair. "Um, Jigglypuff... you know she was suppose to die, right?"

"I knooow..." She spoke as she sobbed. "But... but... but... I LET HER DIE-IE-IEEEEEEE!"

"But if it wasn't for you not being able to heal her, you guys wouldn't have made it to the next round!" Jigglypuff's cries only got louder as Marth finished that sentence.

Jigglypuff continued to cry as Kirby turned to look at Marth again. "Oh well, she'll be fine. Anyway, congrats on making it yourself. We've been here for a while, and we didn't notice you guys come in."

"Yeah, we were the second to last team who got here I think."

Kirby grinned. "I see. Cutting it close there, huh Marth?" Marth also laughed. "So, did you guys find that mysterious person you were looking for?"

Marth's chuckling stopped and he nodded to Kirby's question. "Yeah... we did. The War- uuuuh..." The swordsman glanced over to Little Mac, who was still standing behind Kirby. Once Kirby noticed where he was looking, he turned around to Little Mac and fell silent. A moment later, Little Mac nodded, flung the still crying Jigglypuff over his shoulder and began to head off in the direction of one of the merchant NPCs. "Told him to leave?"

"Yup." The puffball replied with a nod. "So, as you were saying?"

"We found The Warlock. He's even made it this far as well."

Kirby glanced down to the ground in thought. "...I see. So he wants Zelda, right? They plan to use her to get information on the Event?"

"Yeah, that or they may even try to capture her to delete her... you never know." Marth answered, looking out over the large maze. After a pause, he turned back to Kirby. "So, how did you know about the Event?"

Kirby's gaze returned to Marth. "Jigglypuff has told me things here and there. I was even asked to join her guild, SSBB."

"Did you?"

"No." He replied with a smile. "I don't really like guilds. I find them too restraining."

Marth grinned. "You should consider joining SSBM. We could always use a squishy like you around!"

After a quick glare Kirby shook his head. "I think I'll pass. No offense Marth, but I really don't think we should get messed up in this whole thing."

The swordsman's grin quickly faded upon hearing Kirby's statement. "Oh. Why do you say that, Kirby? You've fought a Wireframe before. You know we're the only ones who can stop them. Why shouldn't we get involved?" Kirby didn't answer at first. "If its that whole Master Hand thing, don't worry, I don't really believe in that either. But I do know that the Wireframes are a problem, and that we should stop them at any cost."

"Still..." Kirby muttered, turning away from the blue haired warrior. "I mean... not only do you have those dangerous Wireframes to battle, you also are risking being attacked by Bowsers Warlocks. Those guys are dangerous you know! And... and I'd never want to see anything bad happen to someone I know. Especially not Jigglypuff.." He looked over to where Little Mac had taken his sister, only to see Jigglypuff's tears had stopped due to Little Mac performing various silly moves to cheer the puffball up. "That's why I told Jigglypuff she should quit SSBB. And that's why I'm telling you to keep your distance from this whole mess."

"But isn't this game worth protecting?" The shifter seemed a bit surprised before turning around quickly to see Marth's grinning face. "I mean, especially for you, since it's your place to meet up with your sister and everything. Those Wireframes and Bowser and his hackers... if they get what they want, this game will be destroyed. Among other things." He added with a laugh. "I guess I never really admitted this to myself but... the reason I want to make sure those things are stopped is to protect this world that we play in. So that me, Link and the others can keep playing. This is game is fun, after all."

Kirby continued to stare at Marth, remaining completely quiet. After a moment of silence, Marth blushed in embarrassment and began to laugh. "Sorry if that came off strange or something."

"Don't be sorry." Kirby finally spoke quietly. "To protect this game... yes, that is a... a noble reason to do those things, isn't it?"

Another pause of silence. "...You okay?" Marth finally asked.

Kirby nodded, looking up at Marth with a big grin on his face. "Yes, yes, I'm perfect! Just... lost in thought 'bout something, thats all..."

"Alot of thinking has been going on lately it seems." Replied Marth chuckling.

"Well the time for thinking is over!" Shouted Kirby, standing up on the tips of his toes so that he could be about waist high with Marth. "We're going to beat you to Zelda, Marth, and win this event! So you better watch out in there, okay?"

"Ha! Really now? You'd be lucky if you make it past all the fangirls trying to hug you!"

Kirby glared at Marth once again. "Oh, sure, make fun of the fact that I'm absolutely adorable. You wish you had a body like this."

Then, suddenly, from a corner of the cave not too far off, came the shrill cry of a character, "OH MY GOODNESS, ITS A SQUISHY!"

"WHERE!?"

"THERE!"

"GET HIM! I WANT TO HUGGLE HIM!"

Within moments, a pile of nearly every female character to make it to the second stage jumped ontop of the little puffball, who's avatar was groaning in pain. Kirby looked over to Marth with pleading eyes, reaching one stubby hand up for assistance. "Help me!"

"Haha, good luck Kirby!" Marth said, waving as he turned to leave, giggling to himself as Kirby began to let out low whimpers of sadness, only to be hugged for comfort.

--

As I made Marth walk away from the mass of hugs, I started to think to myself. Just what is this game to me...

After thinking over what I had just said... and what Link had just told me...

This game...

Ah well. I guess I should go see if anyone else made it.

--

"Aw man, this is so stupid!"

"Yeah, what the heck is up with this NPC?"

On the ledge, Peach had only programed one thing adventurers could do in their fifteen minute break time in between the events. And that one thing was resupplying their items. She had put two NPCs in charge of this task, but the one of the far left of the ledge didn't seem to be wanting to complete its task. "What kind of merchant NPC doesn't sell items anyway." A male human arcane spoke, crossing his arms in frustration.

"Dumb Peach, this is why I don't like her. Putting NPCs there that don't do anything, sheesh." Added a female beast swordsman. "Let's get outta here and resupply with the other merchant. I hope it hasn't sold out yet..."

The team of three players left the unresponsive NPC and headed over to where a mass of players had gathered to resupply. Not far from the sight, Rosalina, Mario and Luigi had overheard the displeased players and decided to head over to investigate the mysterious NPC. Rosalina leaned in closely to examine the NPC which had red hair, a simple white dress, and a very interesting brooch upon her chest. "Thats strange. I don't remember programming a second merchant NPC." She said, looking over the character.

Mario brought his hand to his chin, pondering the situation at hand. A moment later, he snapped his fingers and smiled. "I think I got it. Could it be that she is left over data from the first Attack on the Castle event? She seems vaguely familiar to me."

"No, I don't think so." Rosalina replied, placing a finger upon her cheek. "I'm pretty sure I overwrote all that data."

"Then its just most likely a mistake." Luigi suggested. "I mean, in huge events like these, its not uncommon for bugs and glitches to show up. This seems like it was just a small glitch that might have happened while you were programming Rosalina. I mean, you have been working long hours, right? Plus with all the stuff going on in your, um, offline life, it wouldn't surprise me if you made a small mistake like that."

Mario turned and glared at his in-game brother while Rosalina chuckled to herself. "You're awfully nosey, aren't you Luigi?"

"It's my job to be nosey you know." Luigi replied with a huge smile. "In the real world, I mean."

Mario sighed and Rosalina nodded. "Well, I suppose one of you is right. Either way, its nothing to worry about. This whole area will be deleted from the server in a couple of minutes anyway."

However, while Rosalina, Mario and Luigi were busy staring at the NPC, little did they know that the NPC was not only staring back at them, but busy having a conversation with some players very far away.

**BOWSER: Maiden! How is it going over there?**

As the three players infront of her turned to leave, the NPC, Maiden, gave a slight smirk in triumph.

**"MAIDEN": Yes Lord Bowser. Everything is going according to plan.  
BOWSER: Good. Have you learned any information on your mission?  
"MAIDEN": I'm afraid not. They're not very talkative.  
"MAIDEN": Only thing I learned was that this area will be deleted soon.  
BOWSER: I see.  
BOWSER: Very well, continue your mission. Make sure to keep taps on Serpent. I have a strange feeling we can't rely on him anymore.  
"MAIDEN": Sure thing :)  
BOWSER: Over and out.**

"Heh. Alright then. If this place is going to be deleted, I better get on the move." She spoke quietly, grinning to herself once the chat had ended. Maiden then reached up to her brooch and gripped it tightly, causing her body to be covered completely in a mysterious dark veil, over which ones and zero's were streaming back and forth. Within a moment, though, the veil had vanished and with it, so had Maiden.

While chatting with Mario and Luigi, Rosalina had decided to turn back around to look at the NPC one last time, only to gasp in shock upon seeing it had disappeared. "What on earth?" She shouted, turning around completely. "It's gone."

Upon hearing her words, Mario and Luigi twisted about as well and both gasped in shock upon seeing the missing NPC. "Where did she go? Peach, you didn't do anything right?" Luigi asked.

"Of course she didn't." Mario replied. "Peach, do you think- Oh." His sentence was cut short by Rosalina's character falling limp onto his shoulder. He changed his position around so that he was holding her body, and then looked over at Luigi with a worried expression. "Do you think that-"

"The NPC could have been one of Bowser's Warlocks?" Luigi finished, to which Mario nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking that too. Perhaps Bowser wants to try to trap us in our own trap."

Mario glanced down at the limp Rosalina, then back at Luigi, a look of fear slowly creeping across his face.

--

-Viridian Forest-

Viridian Forest, an area on the Kanto, was considered one of the most confusing dungeons in the entire game. With it's disorienting maze of trees and wild Pokemon waiting to lung at any traveler, the zone was a formidable foe for even the most experienced player. However, none of it's challenges mattered anymore to a party of players, who had just reached the final area in the dungeon.

"We did it guys!" Exclaimed a human swordswoman, as she stepped forward to open a large treasure chest that rested infront of her. "We made it to the end!"

From behind her, the cheers of excitement from her four party members could be heard as they anxiously awaited her to open the treasure chest. "Open it, hurry!" Shouted a small Pokemon archer.

With a nod, the female swordswoman reached out to the treasure chest and pushed open the lid. A bright flash shot out, golden light consumed the box and five small orbs sored out from where it once rested. One flew right at the human in front, while the other four floated behind her. "...Alright! Awesome! I got a ruby! Those sell for a bunch on the-" She stopped herself mid-sentence upon turning around to see the four bodies of her party laying on the forest floor, turning gray as their HP bars fell to zero. "What on earth-"

Suddenly, her character was pulled backwards, locked in a head lock by some unseen player. A knife was put against her neck, and the sound of her assaulter laughing could be heard in her head set. "Rubies do sell for a lot, you know. Congratulations for finding it."

Upon hearing his voice, the player's breathing quickly became broken and sweat began to run down the avatar's face. "Doc-Doctor Mario..."

Dr. Mario began to chuckle to himself again. "And all that experience you gained. My, you and your party were here a certainly long time." The swordswoman didn't reply this time, out of fear for her character. "Since you're so big and strong, how about helping me out here, hmm? After all..." He pushed the knife closer to her avatar's neck, causing her HP to drop slightly and her player to let out a frightened gasp. "It would be terrible if something happened to all your hard work, huh?"

"Y-Yes. Anything you need, Dr. Mario..."

The assassin grinned. "Good. Then I have some questions to ask you..."

After a moment or so of interrogation, Dr. Mario expression quickly became surprise. "So, you've seen him have you?"

"Yes. H-He was over by the center of the maze, leveling up on the monsters there."

Another moment past before Dr. Mario let his grip on the player go, causing her avatar to fall to her knees on the forest floor. "I see. Thank you, you were the first player to have seen him here. I was beginning to think he wouldn't show up."

"What do you want with him?" She asked, quickly covering her mouth upon realizing the question she just asked.

Dr. Mario just closed his eyes and smiled, turning to leave the player. "I'm afraid thats none of your concern." The healer began to walk away, leaving the swordswoman on the group, who's relieved smile grew bigger with each step Dr. Mario took away from her. But then he stopped and without turning around to look at her, called out, "Oh, one more thing..." Her smile quickly faded, as did the rest of her body as she fell to the ground with a thud, a knife embedded deep in her armor plated chest. "PKing is so much fun."

Elsewhere in the forest, a single Hylian swordsman was busy doing battle with a rather large bee monster called a Beedrill in a small clearing in the mass amount of trees. The monster flung it's large spear-like hand at the young swordsman, who managed to roll out of the way of the attack. Quickly standing back up, he charged forward and with a slash down the center of the huge monster, it exploded into colorful pieces of data and disappeared. "The monsters here are getting too weak..." He muttered to himself, placing his sword back in his sheath.

He was about to leave when the sound of a player walking into the area caught his attention. He turned around and frowned up seeing who had just strolled in. "If you had just waited by the entrance to the field, instead of wandering off, then we could already be done with this meeting and you'd be off kill tougher monster, Young Link."

Young Link glared at the newcomer. "Well, it was certainly rude of YOU to call me out on the forums, then leave me waiting for an hour or so Dr. Mario!" He shouted back.

"A hour?" The assassin whispered confused. "Are you in a different time zone?"

"What did you say?!"

Dr. Mario shook his head and apporched the swordsman. "Nothing. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, But now that we're both here, lets get down to business."

"So why the hell did you call me out here?!" Young Link asked, pointing a finger at Dr. Mario. "And for the record, don't call me out on the forums! I'd rather not be associated with people like you!"

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you." Replied Dr. Mario, leaning up against one of the many trees that surrounded the clearing. "Anyway, I asked you to come here because I have some questions about a player I'd like you to answer for me. I figured since you were close to him, you might know more about him."

"Who we talking about here?" Asked the Hylian, crossing his arms. "I've know alot of people over the years I've played these games."

"Ganondorf." Answer Dr. Mario after a slight pause. He noticed Young Link's facial expression quickly change at the sound of the players name. "I want you to tell me about Ganondorf."

At first, Young Link looked surprised and shocked upon hearing Dr. Mario utter the name. But he quickly caught himself and after shaking it off, his face quickly became an angry frown. "Hmph. Why would I tell you anything about Ganondorf, huh? Why don't you just ask him yourself, you're so famous I'm sure he'd want to meet with you."

"I certainly could, I know." He spoke calmly. "But I wanted to here it from an unbiased third party."

"Who said I would be unbiased, huh? And besides, why would I wanna tell a PKer like you?"

There was a slight pause, followed by Dr. Mario letting out a short sigh. "Well I have no time talking to someone who has no intention of giving me information." The healer pushed himself off the tree and turned to leave through the forest until Young Link began to chuckle.

"Well sorry you feel that way." Young Link said through his sarcastic giggles. "I just don't give away information without expect anything in return. If you happen to come across some juicy stuff, come back to me and we'll talk."'

"I thought you said you didn't want to be associated with players like me."

"Yeah, well... you gotta dig in dirt to find the buried treasure you know."

Dr. Mario chuckled to himself. "Well, just so you know, I have some info you might be interested in."

"Huh?"

"As a PKer, I tend to have the quality needed to have people tell me some juicy tidbits. So as a result, I have alot of unsavory players coming to me, looking for a hint or two. But I don't work for free. And I didn't think a player of your popularity would either."

"Popularity? Ha..." Young Link said with a growl. "Like anyone remembers me anymore... ever since that day..."

"You were robbed of your title, I know, I was there."

The Hylian quickly put a hand on the hilt of his sword and went into a battle position. "Don't mock me!" He shouted, preparing to charge at the PKer.

"I'm not mocking you." Replied Dr. Mario, turning back around to face Young Link. "And, if you'd like to know, the information I have concerns the very person who robbed you of your title... of your fame... and of your avatar."

Young Link quickly dropped his battle position and crossed his arms. "Tell me."

"I asked you first." Young Link growled at Dr. Mario, who began to laugh. "I did. So you tell me your information and I'll tell you mine. What do you know about Ganondorf?"

Young Link didn't answer right away, he seemed still unwilling to reveal his information yet. But after a few minutes of silence, he finally sighed and began to think. "Well... Ganondorf... I don't know too much about him. He's a tough fighter. He doesn't really want to give up. He's one of the few male gerudo's in this game, so he's considered very lucky... He hasn't lost a match since he became the champ of the arena. He fights only for the thrill of the tournament, to try and find a worthy opponent."

"I know that..." Dr. Mario replied agitated, leaning back up against the tree.

"Then what do you want to know? His favorite color? It's yellow."

"You were his friend, right? Did anything... strange... happen to him? Anything you can remember at all?"

"First off, we were never friends!" Young Link quickly corrected. "We only sparred together a few times... that was until he started using that... that cheating move! But..."

Dr. Mario looked over at Young Link. "You mean his Final Smash?"

"His what?"

"Nevermind. Go on."

"Now that you mention... strange things... there was this one time..." Young Link started. Dr. Mario continued to stare at the Hylian with attentive eyes until at last Young Link placed two fingers on his forehead and began to smile. "I'm sorry, the event seems to be slipping my mind at the moment. I could use a refresher."

With a frown, the healer looked away from Young Link. "It's not like you told me anything I didn't already know, but fine, as long as you can recall."

"No promises."

Dr. Mario glared at the swordsman, who chuckled in response. "Are you aware of the upcoming team tournament? The Poke Cup? That was a stupid question, of course you are, you're in the PVP circuit. Anyway, in the upcoming tournament... there is going to be a few surprise guests who will be in the tournament."

Young Link stared at the assassin with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Ganondorf and his team will be entering it."

"What do you mean?" He asked in surprise. "Ganondorf despises team tournaments. He would never-"

"Thats not all." Dr. Mario said, cutting the boy off. "He will also be there, and his team from the guild SSBM."

"Are you serious?!" Dr. Mario nodded. "Ha! The joke is on you, the qualifications rounds are over! And I watched them all! And neither Ganondorf, nor any guild called SSBM was there!"

Dr. Mario smirked. "Oh? Well, have you heard the rumors? That Ganondorf has joined Bowser and his hackers?"

Young Link looked completely stunned. "Are... Wha... No... No, Ganondorf would never join hackers. He thought they were the worst kind of players! Even lower then you PKs!"

"You'd be surprised at how persuasive Bowser can be. He will enter the tournament, through hacking." Young Link still looked shocked, as if he didn't buy it. "And as for the other one... I'm sure you've read the rumors on the forums of how close SSBM is with the moderating team, no?"

"I thought those were just rumors. I mean, half the stuff on the forums is crap anyway..."

Dr. Mario chuckled. "Well, just look at this latest event. Their guild leader is the prize for winning, more or less. It's obvious they've rigged this event in their favor. The moderators will put them into the tournament, just because they want too."

At first Young Link didn't seem to effected by it. But after a second of letting it sink it, he let out a loud yell, took out his sword and began to slash down a tree behind him, which exploded into data only to return a moment later. "I can't believe him! First our battle, then this event and now the team tournament?! He's destroying this game to do as he pleases!" Dr. Mario could only laugh as he saw Young Link's rage. After a minute of attacking the trees, he turned around and stared at Dr. Mario. "How can I trust what you say!?"

"I guess you can't."

"If I hadn't already qualified for the End of the Year Free for All I would try to enter this one to beat the two of them..."

"Well, I don't suppose you can then." Young Link glared at Dr. Mario as he laughed again. "I don't care what you do with that information, if you even believe it. But I thought you'd be interested. Now, did that refresh your memory?"

Young Link continued to glare at the assassin for a bit longer until he finally sighed and looked upwards towards the blue sky. "Alright. Well... let's see if I can remember, then."

--

I continued to have Marth wander about the edge of the cliff, searching high and low for any signs of teams that I recognized. After a couple more minutes of searching, I put down my controller and let out a low sigh. "I guess no one else is here, huh. Oh well. I guess I should head over to where Link and the others are."

Picking up my controller back up, I quickly imputed for Marth to turn around and head off in the direction of the rest of my party. However, as I started on my way over to the others I noticed my text box scrolled upwards. At the bottom of the screen it read:

**FOXHOUND waves to MARTH.**

Spinning the camera around, I saw the player who told us the location of the Warlock, Foxhound, resting against the large side of the cliff. Since I didn't really know the guy, I guess I didn't notice him there. I quickly opened up the text box and clicked on his avatar as Marth continued to walk. "Alright then, /wave..." I said aloud as I typed in the command.

Within a fraction of a second, Marth in the game followed my command. He turned his head and waved to the player... and then walked right into another player who was walking towards him. .

--

Marth and the other avatar both fell to the ground upon impact with the other player, closing their eyes shut in pain. "Ow. Oh, I'm sorry about that." Said Marth, standing up quickly to offer a helping hand to the other player. "I guess my character didn't see you there, haha."

The player, a fox beast quickly grabbed Marth's hand and pulled himself up, laughing to himself as he stood up. "Nah, it's my fault. I saw you coming, I thought we could pass through each other's avatars here. I guess since this is a PVP area though the game won't allow it."

"Oh, really?"

The player nodded, then looked over to somewhere behind Marth. The swordsman quickly turned and followed the players gaze, only to find it landed upon the relaxing Foxhound. "So, I see you know that guy over there?"

Marth shook his head. "Uh, no, not really. We were talking in the field outside Hyrule Castle before the event. That's all."

"Ah, good. I was hoping you weren't mingling with players like him."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Like... him?"

"He's a PKer." Marth gave a low gasp of surprise, now turning around completely to face Foxhound. "Foxhound. He's a Hunter/Iron Fist. Tends to attack intermediate players from a distant using explosives and long range weapons. Mostly PKs on the Hyrule or Pherae servers. Wanted for atleast thirty reported claims of PKing. Fortunately though, he's had not a single report of a hacking. He's around number fifty on the list of most dangerous PKs." Marth looked absolutely dumbfounded by how much information the beast knew on Foxhound. "I'm a bounty hunter, and I entered this event to track and chase him down. And, if you're his friend, I'd have to be suspicious of you as well."

"Ah! N-No! Me, a PKer? No, no! Never." Shouted Marth nervously, waving his arms about in a frantic gesture.

The player laughed again at Marth's reaction and patted him on his shoulder. "I believe you. After all, I get information straight from the Bounty Hunting guild on all the PKers who are even worth chasing down. Never came across your name though, haha."

Marth let out a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"Well, I better be getting back to work right now. Sorry about bumping in to ya like that Marth. Good luck in the next part of the event!"

"Yeah, you too..." Marth paused for a second as he examined the players name. "...Well thats a rather generic name, isn't it?"

"Ha, if you have a problem with my name, maybe you should look at yours first. If you put an A at the end, then maybe it would make more sense."

"Wh-What?!"

The beast laughed, patting Marth on the shoulder once again. "I'm joking, I'm joking. I know it's generic, but what can you do. Anyway, I gotta be heading off. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"You too." Marth said with a nod, turning to leave the player behind. Once he was out of hearing range, Marth began to mumble to himself. "Put an A at the end of my name... Martha? Geez, what's with all the players calling me a girl. I don't look like a girl..." He paused for a moment, picturing himself in his mind. "...do I?"

"Well, the tiara certainly doesn't help you know."

"Huh?" Marth turned around and saw Saria, along with her two friends Tido and Mido approaching him from behind. "Oh, its you three."

Saria stopped a little ways infront of Marth and put her hands on her hips. Her lips quickly curved into a cocky smile as she spoke, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you weren't happy to see us. Come now, Marth. What did I ever do to you?"

"You stole our kill." Replied the swordsman in all seriousness, causing the other three to start giggling slightly.

"You're still hung up over that?" Saria spoke through her giggles. "Oh, come on now. You can't be serious, can you?" Marth didn't answer. "Haven't you ever heard the saying 'Forgive and Forget'? Hmm?" When he didn't answer again, Saria sighed and rolled her eyes. "Anyway Marth, I want to talk to Link. Where is he?"

"Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you." Marth replied, crossing his arms.

The arcane sighed once more. "So you don't know where he is. Well, since I don't have time to go searching, I guess I'll just have to find him in the next part of the event and ask him before I finish him off." She and her two companions turned to leave. "See you in the labyrinth, girlfriend."

Saria continued to laugh to herself as she left, leaving behind a very angry swords. "I do NOT look like a girl!"

--

An uneasy silence fell across the forest. Dr. Mario stood there, his eyes wide in shock as he watch Young Link's lost gaze drift from the digital sky to the green grass below. "Are... Are you sure that's what happened?" Dr. Mario asked, his voice filled with a slight fear.

"Yes. I mean, it was a few months ago... but you don't forget something like that." Answered the Hylian, his voice shaky. "I have no idea how it happened or what started it. All I know is it had to do with that circle with the off centered cross."

"A circle... with an off centered cross." Repeated Dr. Mario. "Then that has to be it..."

After hearing Dr. Mario comments, Young Link turned and raised an eyebrow. "That has to be what?"

"Nothing..." Said Dr. Mario, his voice still wavy. After a pause, he regained his composer, crossing his arms and repeating in a more stern voice, "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Hey now! Compare what I just told you to what you told me!" Young Link shouted, pointing a finger a the healer. "You OWE it me to tell me!"

Dr. Mario turned around and began to walk out back through the woods. "I don't owe you anything. We exchanged info for info. If you don't know about it already, then I'd say it's best you don't know about it at all."

"Why you!"

"If you really want to know, why don't you go to his guild, hmm? You know, SSBM."

Young Link took out his sword and pointed it at Dr. Mario's back. "Like hell I'd go to HIS guild for ANYTHING!"

Peering over his shoulder, Dr. Mario smirked at the Hylian. "Then go to their rival guild, SSBB. I really don't care, but I'm sure those guilds could answer any questions you have. Either way, I'm done with you for now. Here, I just sent you my GID. Send me yours."

"Why on earth would I give you mine?!"

"Heh. Well, if you like me calling you out on the forums then fine. I have a feeling this won't be the last time I'll need you. Till then."

With that Dr. Mario disappeared into the cover of the trees, leaving behind Young Link who cursed the assassin under his breath before leaving to defeat more monsters.

"So it turned out to be a worth while idea to call the boy after all..." Dr. Mario spoke to himself as he walked through the thick maze of trees. "And if what he says is true then... the power of Ganondorf... It seems my hunch may have been... wrong." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a green item, which exploded into a warp pipe a moment later. With a quick jump, Dr. Mario hopped on top of the pipe and smile. "Sheik would love to hear this." The assassin disappeared down the pipe a moment later.

--

Marth continued to walk about the ledge of the cliff hopelessly searching for his party members. And after about three minutes of searching, he finally found Link and Ness sitting by the edge of the cliff, gazing out over the large labyrinth that awaited them in only about five minutes. "Hey guys!" He called out, approaching his companions waving.

Link turned around and motioned for to come join them. "Hello Marth." He spoke as the swordsman sat down in between the two of them. "Here, I got you some items at the item shop. I'm going to trade them to you, so accept it okay?"

"Sure... alright I got them, thanks."

Link smiled at Marth, then turned back around to look out onto the maze. "No problem. So, did you find any interesting teams that made it this far?"

"Most I didn't recognize. But Kirby and Jigglypuff made it."

"Did they?" Marth nodded. "Good, I'm glad."

The blue haired swordsman smiled. "Yeah, me too. Oh, and Saria and her two lackies made it as well. Also, so did that player who showed us the Warlock, Foxhound. But other then those three teams, I didn't see anyone else."

"Really? So then no- Oh..." Link stopped mid sentence, at which Marth raised an eyebrow.

"Aaayh!" Shouted a surprised Ness.

Marth began to swing his head back and forth between the two of them. "Hey, whats wrong with you-"

**DAISY: GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!1!!111!!**

"Oh..."

**DAISY: THAT BITCH! YARGH!  
DAISY: SHE KNEW I WAS SUCH AN AWESOME HEALER I WOULDN'T LET THAT STUPID NPC DIE!  
DAISY: RIGGED I TELL U! IT WAS RIGGED!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!  
DAISY: Marthyyyyy ; ; I can't believe this happened :(  
MARTH: Um... Its okay?  
DAISY: Nooooo! Now I'm never going to get to kill link :((((  
MARTH: Such a shame...  
DAISY: ...**

"Well... I guess she didn't make it?"

Link grinned at Marth. "Looks like it!"

After the two shared a laugh, another message appeared across Marth's text chat.

**LINK: So?  
MARTH: So?  
LINK: Are you going to talk to Ness? He's right there :D  
MARTH: Do I have too?  
LINK: :(  
MARTH: alright fine...**

The swordsman took in a deep breath, then turned to the psychic boy at his side. "Um... Ness..." He started, his face showing his obvious discomfort. Ness didn't reply and after what felt like ten minutes of silence to Marth, he continued, "Uh... Well, I've been thinking. Maybe... well, I know we don't really get along. But..." He paused, turning his gaze to the rocky floor beneath him, then behind him to Link who was grinning and motioning him to continue. "But... we're teammates, right? Guild members? So... even if we don't like each other... do you think it could be possible to... you know... try to get along?" After another pause, there was still no reply from the boy, who continued to stare out across the labyrinth. "I mean, I know you don't like me, and I certainly don't like you, but for the good of our guild and this who event thing thats going on in the game... Don't you think it'd be better if we just tried to get along?" Once again, silence. "Ness? Ness... Ness! C'mon, the least you could do it answer me!"

"Huh? What?" He finally spoke, turning his head towards Marth. "I heard you trying to talk to me, so I went AFK for a bit. I fixed myself a snack."

Both Marth's and Link's faces dropped. "You... you mean you weren't there this whole time?" Asked Marth.

"Nope! Why, were you talking to me? Ha! Like I'd listen to you anyway, newbie."

Link's worried gaze shifted slowly from Ness over to Marth, who's eyes were shut tight in anger and was slowly lifting his fists. "Uh-oh..."

WHACK!

Before anyone knew what happened, Ness found himself face down on the rocky ledge, a huge bump throbbing by his forehead. He quickly stood up and pointed a finger at Marth, who was standing with a proud smile on his face. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR YOU STUPID SON OF A-"

"THAT IS FOR GOING AFK WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE!" He shouted back. "It's NOT proper online etiquette."

Ness glared at the swordsman. "Oh, please, like you know anything about online etiquette!"

"I know more then you."

"Yeah?!"

"YEAH!"

The two preceded to get into a strange, small fight, which ended with Marth yanking on Ness's ears while the small psychic cried out in confusion over what emote the swordsman was using. All the while, Link watched the spectacle and sighed, but his lips quickly curved into a smile as he watched the two. "Well..." He whispered so low that not even they could hear it. "At least he tried."

"Well, look who is it!" Called out a voice, a voice that was unfamiliar to the three players. They turned to see a small red lizard like pokemon with a flame on its tail approaching. At it's side there was a tall Gerudo player, dressed in pink armor. "It's those cheaters! And they don't even care about drawing attention to themselves! What little punks!"

The trio quickly stopped what they were doing and began to stare at the newcomers. Ness was the first to speak, glaring at the pokemon as he asked, "Do we know you?"

"Hopefully you don't." Spoke the Gerudo, placing a hand on her hip. "But I'm sure that everyone knows who you three are. Link, Ness and Marth... the three players who rigged this event!"

"Rigged this event?" Link repeated, looking at the two players with confusion. "Who in the world told you we rigged this event?"

"No one had to tell us anything." The Pokemon said with it's arms crossed. "All the players figured that your guild had something to do with this event, since your guild leader is the prize!"

The gerudo chuckled. "But you know, it wasn't until the user Little Princess Me made a post on the forums tying you guys in with Peach and the admins that we all released you guys were really up to no good!"

Upon hearing the user's account name, the three quickly exchanged glances with one another. "Little Princess Me..." Marth said over the team chat. "That sounds familiar... isn't that-"

"Daisy. Daisy is the one who spread the rumors." Ness concluded.

Link sighed. "Well, I figured as much. Still... there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Hey! Why don't the three of you stop talking on team chat and say what ya gotta say to all of us here!" Shouted the Pokemon, leaning its face in towards the group. "Or are you guys talking about how worried you are now that one team made it here that knows you secret huh?!"

Marth stood up and pointed a finger down at the pokemon. "Come on now! We're not hacking this event, we got here the same way you guys did."

"He's right." Link added with a nod. "Just because Zelda is the prize doesn't mean the admins are treating us any differently. We only entered to try and prove that our guild was really worth all the attention. Peach isn't helping us anymore then she's helping you guys."

"Ha! Sure! Like anyone believes you guys!" The pokemon retorted. "Stupid cheaters!"

Marth rolled his eyes at the Pokemon. "We're not cheaters! Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to believe everything you read on the forums, huh... ha! I like your name." He finished with a sarcastic laugh. "Zippo. You must be hyperactive or something!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be talking about names if I were you, Sir Martha."

Upon being called Martha, the swordsman face quickly dropped while Ness began to laugh uncontrollably in the back. "HAHA! The Pokemon gotcha good."

"Quiet down you." Link muttered.

As the two groups continued to bicker back and forth about the legitimacy of the trio being in the event, another player decided to walk by and drop in on their conversation. "Hey guys. I see you've made two more friends."

Zippo and the Gerudo turned to see the newcomer, and their jaws quickly hit the floor upon seeing who it was. "Ma-Mario!" They cried in unison, backing away from him in awe.

Mario smiled at the two. "Yes. Nice to meet you, Zippo. Nabooru. So what are you five up too?"

Nabooru pointed a finger at the three. "Surely you've read the rumors on the forums right?!"

"I don't really swing by the forums anymore..."

The two looked surprised, but continued on anyway. "Those two are rigging this event so they'll win it!" She explained. "Didn't you think it was odd that the guild SSBM's leader is the main prize, and they entered and made it this far? Peach struck a deal with them so that no one else could win!"

Mario raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Marth, Link and Ness. "Oh? Really? I didn't know you three would do that." Zippo and Nabooru smiled at one another, while Marth and Ness sighed and Link smiled and waved at Mario. "But I have a question you two... do you have any proof besides information on the forums? Or are you just going by the fact that they are in the same guild as Zelda?"

The duo stopped smiling and began to ponder the question. "Well... what are the odds that THEY would make it here!" Zippo finally announced.

"The same as either you or I making it here, I'd suppose." Answered Mario, looking away. "Still, I guess it is strange that their guild's team did make it this far, hmm? But... if you're going to go by that only, then wouldn't you have to say that my best friend and in-game brother Luigi is in the same boat? He's in their guild, after all."

"Uh..."

"I've known him for quiet some time, and he was with me when we won this event for the first time. And since he's on my team, you'd have to say that we're rigging it too, right?"

The two shook their heads. "No! We're not saying that!" Zippo plead. "But-But-But!"

"If you're going to use their guild as a reason to accuse them, then you should accuse everyone from their guild!"

The two looked dumbstruck. Ness chuckled to himself and spoke in team chat, "Hah. Typical players. If they think that accusing us is the same as accusing Mario then for sure they'll stop! They're all saps for a popular player."

"You're one to talk." Marth muttered, glancing back at the boy, who looked away in a huff.

"Well... you maybe right." Zippo finally whispered, looking back towards the three SSBM members. "But still... I don't trust these three!" Turning to the Gerudo, the pokemon continued, "C'mon Nabooru. We have to get ready for the next part of the event." Nabooru nodded and the two began to walk away from the group in silence, Zippo speaking only once more, "We'll just have to make sure we stop them before they can make it to the final part of the event."

Once they were gone, Mario started to chuckle to himself. "Congratulations. You've made yet another enemy team."

"Lucky us." Link replied smiling. "So what's going on Mario?"

The Iron-Fist sighed. "Not good. I have some bad news."

Upon hearing Mario's reply, the three quickly became attentive, Link and Ness stand up to turn and look at Mario. "What's the bad news?" The Hylian asked.

"Well, you see... it's possible that Serpent wasn't the only hacker to take the bait..."

"What? You mean there's another hacker here?!" Marth asked, his face full of surprise.

Mario shook his head. "I'm not sure. Peach is looking into it right now." He looked behind him and smiled. "In fact, here she comes now."

They all turned to see Rosalina walking towards them, a look of worry upon her face. At her side was Luigi, who was smiling as they apporched. "Hey guys." He greeted, raising his hand to wave.

"Pe- Rosalina... is what Mario saying true?" Link asked quickly as he stepped forward. "Because if it is then-"

"I'm not sure if there is another hacker or not." Rosalina whispered as she neared, her head hung low. "You see, when I programmed this area, I only intended to program in one merchant NPC. But for some reason there were two in the area. After we looked at it, I figured it might have just been a mistake on my part, but... when we turned away, it vanished." Link, Ness and Marth exchanged nervous glances. "Best cast scenario, it turns out that it was just a mistake, and I noticed it while programming. If I did, then after a certain amount of time, the data should have just deleted itself if it was unfinished. The worst would be..."

"No problem! Even if it is another hacker, we'll be sure to stop them!" Marth shouted proudly. "Right guys?" Link nodded slowly while Ness didn't show any signs of caring.

Rosalina looked up at Marth with a weak smile on her face. "I know, but... it's not you I'm worried about." She turned her gaze to the other teams, mingling with one another, anxiously awaiting the next part of the event. "You know, the more I think about it... perhaps I should have thought this out a little more. I really didn't want to put any teams in danger over this..."

"Don't worry about it, Rosalina." Link spoke calmly as he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "With the two of our teams, we'll be sure to stop any hackers before they can ruin the game for any of the other players. You can count on it."

She smiled again, but this time a more genuine smile. "Right. Thank you, Link. Marth. Ness. I have to go log onto Peach now and make the final preparations for the next part of the event, so hopefully the next time I'll see your team is in the final area. Good luck. Oh, and... turn left when you first get into the maze."

Link chuckled and nodded. "Alright. See ya, Rosalina." Rosalina turned to leave, followed close behind by Mario and Luigi. Once they were gone, Link let out a sigh and turned back around to look at his other party members. "Well, I guess this means we've got two hackers to deal with now."

"That's not a problem." Ness replied. "One more hacker doesn't scare me. Only person who should be worried around here is Marth."

The blue haired swordsman glanced down at the psychic. "Well, then you'll be glad to know I'm not the least bit worried." He then turned to Link, a grin creeping across his face. "No hacker is going to get in our way! Right Link?"

With a typical smile, the Hylian nodded. "Right."

CONTINUE... ?


	23. LOGIN 22

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine. Do you guys even read the disclaimer? I could post the ingredients to the elixir of life and I bet no one would even notice.

A/N: Chapter 22! Whoo!

......  
I bet you were expecting more after a 4 month hiatus huh?  
Blame colleges for insisting we write papers every week and online games for enslaving me to their deadly ways! I'm starting to see myself in Marth's player now. No0o!  
But I say! It's winter! Eggnog and mistletoe all about! I finally should have enough time to get to work on the story. Plus I remembered what Sheik and Dr. Mario were suppose to talk about :).  
...Oh, and this may be a bit presumptuous, but I might get my 200th review with this chapter. So if I do, hurray! Cookies to everyone who reviews this chapter! Whoo~  
I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I know it wasn't worth the wait, but maybe it'll get you excited about the next one :)

Background Music:  
Heart pounding omg action Attack on the Castle theme - Together We Ride! (?)/Temple alternative theme in Melee  
Samba Technique- Samba De Amigo's theme.

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #22: Labyrinth of Koridai [SRV: PvP]**

--

-Dry Dry Desert-

The digitalized wind whipped about the sandy dunes of the desert, blowing up the sand and carrying it about in a swirl before the programming dropped it back down to the dusty ground. Standing among these large sand dunes was a healer in a long white coat with dark pants. Dr. Mario sighed and crossed his arms, his face not showing his obvious boredom of waiting. "... Hm?"

From off in the distance, the peaceful night of the desert was quickly disturbed by a cloud of dust being shot up into the sky. Dr. Mario smirked as he saw it approach his spot and began to chuckle once the player who the cloud belonged too had arrived. "Hello Sheik." Dr. Mario greeted with a grin. "I didn't think you'd come on such short notice."

Sheik didn't answer him. She stood there, her eyes giving the healer a piercing glare as she crossed her arms. "What do you want?" She finally asked in a cold voice.

Dr. Mario raised an eyebrow at the assassin. "Something the matter, Sheik? You don't seem as... cheerful today. You came without your mule boy, too..."

"If you just wanted to chat, I'm not interested."

Sheik turned to leave the hacker, but Dr. Mario quickly spoke up. "Hold on a moment, Sheik. I called you for a reason..."

"Then spill it."

Sheik spun back around, her glare not once leaving her face. The two continued this stare down for a few more moments before Dr. Mario nodded. "Hmph. This isn't exactly the way you should be speaking to your ally, you know. It's very rude."

After Dr. Mario uttered that sentence, an uneasy quiet fell upon the duo. It seemed as if a chill had fallen across the desert, and Dr. Mario quickly noticed something in Sheik's attitude had changed. "Ally?" She repeated, her voice stern. "You're calling me your ally?"

"Sheik, what are you talking about?"

"For a moment, I had forgotten." She started, her cold gaze not once leaving Dr. Mario's eyes. "I had thought that we were allies. That we could work together. But then I remembered what you were. You... You're are the worst kind of player. And I had vowed on my life to make sure that you would be stopped!"

Dr. Mario crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Where is this coming from Sheik? I don't understand."

"How many players did you PK today in the Viridian Forest!" She shouted, taking the assassin by surprised. "The forums are all in an uproar over it. At least thirty different players have made posts saying how you PKed them while they were minding their own business! "

The assassin shrugged. "So I killed a few players. It's no big deal. I got some good information out of it, at least."

"There should never be a time where you need to PK players for information."

Dr. Mario rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Now, do you want to hear what I have or not? All this bickering is seriously making me reconsider our alliance."

Sheik didn't reply at first. Instead she walked closer to Dr. Mario, who took a step back once she had gotten within weapon striking distance. In a quick flash, she reached out and grabbed him by his coat and pulled him up to her face. "There was no alliance." She hissed in a cold voice.

"Then what do you call-"

"When we agreed to these little meetings we only said we'd exchange information." Sheik began, cutting him off. "There was never an alliance. We would just use each other for information. I would never want an alliance with someone like you."

Dr. Mario stared into Sheik's eyes, the only visible feature on her avatar's face. Although they were computerized, he could sense the anger leaking from them and he couldn't help but swallow slightly. Still, he remained calm and swatted Sheik's hand away from his coat, dropping to the ground. "So, we use each other like pawns then?" He asked as his avatar brushed off the spot where she had just been holding him.

"More or less." She answered.

"Hmph. I see then."

After Dr. Mario spoke, the two remained quiet. Dr. Mario glanced down to the sandy dunes as Sheik continued to stare at the healer in front of her. After a few moments of silence Sheik finally spoke up, "So are you going to tell me why you called me here."

Dr. Mario closed his eyes, chuckled and spun around on his heal. "No that's quiet alright. I think I'll take my information elsewhere. I don't like being used you see. I'm sure I can find someone else to be my pawn instead of you." Sheik stood silently as Dr. Mario began to walk away a few feet before he was consumed by a green warp pipe. Moments later, Sheik too vanished down a green warp pipe, leaving the digital wind to wipe away any signs in the sand that the two had ever been there.

--

-Labyrinth of Koridai-

Fireworks and explosions rang out across the dank cave, quickly catching all of the players attention. Among them, Link, Ness and Marth, quickly took notice and turned to where they had come from - the steep ledge overlooking the intimidating labyrinth. No sooner did they look did the theme music for the event begin to play and a beam of light shot down from the ceiling of the cave. "This is it..." Link said as he focused his attention on the beam of light. "Looks like it's about to begin."

"Alright!" Marth cheered. "It's about time. It seemed to be taking so long I thought Peach might have gone on vacation or something!"

The song began to play louder and as it did the mass of players began to move their characters over to the side of the ledge, all looking up into the light and awaiting their visitor. It didn't take long before from the ceiling descended the mistress of the event, Peach. "Hello everyone!" She spoke as she slowed her descent, floating in midair.

"Hello Peach!" Echoed back the group.

Peach smiled and as she did the music began to die down. "Welcome to the second part of the 'Attack on the Castle' event, the Labyrinth of Koridai! Before we begin I first want to tell each of you congratulations again for making it this far. Out of hundreds of teams, we now only have sixteen!" She started to clap and as she did, so did the mass of players.

"Pssh, what parrots." Ness muttered, crossing his arms and sighing upon seeing Marth who was clapping away.

"As you remember, Princess Zelda has been kidnapped by mysterious creatures and brought here into his labyrinth. As we speak, they plan to sacrifice them to their forbidden gods! So hurry, warriors!" She pointed her hand forward and in the middle of the ledge a large, light blue vortex of swirling mist appeared. "Enter this portal! It'll teleport you to your starting points. There, you will find a Face of Evil. Remember, only four teams who collect four Faces of Evil will be able to battle to save the Princess, so hurry! But do not be reckless, as there are other problems that you will face in the labyrinth aside from one another! Be swift and may fortunes carry you to victory! Good luck, everyone!"

The music once again began to play as Peach began to raise into the air. "You could tell by her speech she's troubled." Link muttered as the crowd of players around the trio waved goodbye. "A lot shorter then normal."

"I guess that second hacker must really be worrying her." Said Marth as he waved to the disappearing Peach. Once she was gone, the players quickly turned and began to charge towards the vortex, all shouting various cheers and jeers as they raced for the first starting point. "Should we go?"

Link looked over and noticed that Mario and Luigi were waiting calmly next to Rosalina's limp body. "Let's wait till Peach gets back."

"All right then."

"Hey, um, Marth..." The swordsman turned around and was greeted by Jigglypuff and Kirby, who were on their way to the vortex. Jigglypuff smiled at her friend. "Good luck." She said quickly.

"You too." Marth replied, returning the smile as the two turned to enter the vortex.

"See you at the finish line, Link."

The Hylian jumped upon hearing his name and turned around just in time to see Saria waving to him and disappearing into the vortex with her two friends, Tido and Mido. "Geez... I hope we don't run into her in there..."

Quickly, team by team, all the players left the ledge, leaving only two parties remaining - Link, Ness and Marth and Mario, Peach and Luigi. Once all the players were gone, the trio made their way over to Mario and Luigi while waiting for Peach to return to her Rosalina form. "You guys didn't go through yet?" Mario asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, we decided to wait till Peach came back." Answered Marth.

"Then sorry to have kept you waiting." The five turned to look at Rosalina, who had returned to life with a smile. "I'm back. Sorry, I just wanted to make sure everyone made it to their destination safely."

"All right, so what's the plan guys?" Link asked. "Should we go in and avoid other teams and just look for the hacker?"

Rosalina sighed. "There's no doubt that Serpent is here for a reason, and I'm sure that reason is Zelda. He will, unfortunately, start fighting other parties. We need to each get four Faces of Evil and advance to the last part of this event. There will only be four teams that make it that far, you three, us three, and I'm sure the Serpent and his party will make it as well."

"So we should still fight the other parties, huh?" Luigi thought out loud, to which Rosalina nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

"What if we bump into either of the hacker's in the maze?" Ness asked. "Should we take them out? Or avoid?"

Rosalina pondered the question for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, engage if you have too. While I don't think he'd want to meet us in the maze, if you see him, fight and try to defeat him. If you do, send us a whisper right away and I'll try to isolate the data and transfer his character to a holding cell. However, I think he'll go to great lengths to avoid us until he absolutely must encounter us, which is the next stage, so I don't think that'll happen."

"All right, it sounds like a plan." Marth spoke up. "We take out three other teams to make it to stage three and if we find the hacker we pound his face in. Sounds just like how we had it before."

"Okay then. Let's get in there and start!" Link shouted, turning around and running off towards the vortex. He was followed closely behind by a bored looking Ness and an equally excited looking Marth who only looked back once to shout:

"Don't take too long getting to the last stage you three!"

The three entered the swirling vortex and as they did, the light blue mist began to pick up speed. "Oh! And one last thing!" They heard Rosalina shout out from the distance. "When you get to your spot... the first turn you'll have to make is left!"

Link nodded and soon the three were disappeared into the mist of the vortex. Once they were gone, Mario let out a low chuckle. "Heh. You know, that Marth is one strange player. I don't think I've been told by any player 'not to be late' before. Uh, aside from you two, I mean."

Luigi also laughed slightly and Rosalina smiled. "Yes. The three of them are... very unique. Now, if you two don't mind, I think we've left the other parties waiting long enough. Let's go."

--

-Within the Labyrinth-

As the screen once again filled with color, I noticed that we had been transported deep within the labyrinth, far away from the ledge we had started at. In front of Marth was a long pathway that up ahead turned to the right. "So this is the place?" I asked out loud, moving Marth about with my controller.

"Looks like it." I heard Link say from behind. I turned around to see Link and Ness looking up at a small mask tied to the solid wall behind us.

"I guess thats the Face of Evil?"

"No, it's just a random mask hanging there for fun. What do you think it is?" Ness snapped back quickly. He never fails to have some stupid comeback.

I watched Link reach up and grab the mask and with a quick yank, pull it from it's resting place. "I'll hold onto it I suppose." He said as his avatar put it in his back pocket. After it was gone, Link walked up past me and began to walk down the pathway. "Let's get going. The faster we get four masks, the faster we can save Zelda."

I heard Ness let out a low sigh as he followed Link around the corner, myself not far behind. I suppose it'll only be a matter of time until the first team appears...

--

"... So how much longer?" Ness moaned for the seemingly hundredth time. The group had only been walking through the winding pathways for about ten minutes, but to a group of players expecting a conflict around every turn, these ten minutes seemed like an eternity.

Link, who was walking in front of the group, came to a halt as they approached another fork in the road. One pathway continued to lead up and seemed to turn right, and another they had just walked up too went left. "Do you think we should take left again? I mean, we took left at the last turn." Asked the Hylian as he gazed down the new path that had appeared.

"Might as well" Marth replied. "We've been following this last path for a while and haven't had any luck with players."

Link nodded and began to walk down the new corridor, followed in suit by Marth and Ness. As they walked it was eerily quiet. No background music, no loud background sounds, no nothing. The only sound they heard was the light breathing of their avatars, the echo of their footsteps against the cold, wet floor and the occasional drip of water from an unseen source. They walked down this new path for about two minutes before it too diverged into different paths, this time into three - one going left, one going right, and the path itself continuing forward.

"Let's go right this time." Said Link as he turned down the right path.

Once again the trio was walking... and walking. Ness sighed once again and put his arms behind his large head. "...So how much longer?" He repeated. "This is really starting to get boring."

"Yeah, well you're starting to get annoying." Marth muttered.

"What did you say?!" Ness quickly snapped, glaring at the swordsman.

Marth sighed and shook his head. "Eh, nothing. Forget it."

"Calm down you two, I know it's boring." Link said from the front of the line. "But I'm sure we're - oh..." Marth and Ness peered ahead to see what had stopped the Hylian mid sentence. "...Dead end."

The group let out a collective sigh and turned around, marching back to the intersection they had past before. "Let's go straight this time." Ness commanded, leading the way down the path they had been walking on before.

Once again eerie near silence filled their headsets. The quiet was finally broken by a large explosion that was heard far off in the distance. "What was that?!" Marth shouted, reaching for his sword.

"Sounded like an explosive... like a Hunter's weapon or something." Link replied. "That, or maybe a Bab-omb." He looked as far upwards as he could see past the huge stone walls and pointed to a pillar of smoke rising from what would have been to the three as the east. "It's coming from over there. Looks like some players found each other."

"Yeah, well let's hurry down this path so that we can find someone's ass to kick!" Ness shouted, picking up speed as he continued down the path.

Link and Marth followed closely behind and soon the path before them turned to the right. Ness quickly whipped around the corner and a loud thud sound echoed through the two swordsman's headsets. As they turned the bend they noticed that Ness had ran face first into another stone wall. "...Another dead end." Link confirmed matter-of-factly.

"No duh..." Ness muttered, rubbing his red face. "Damn it..."

The trio once again made their way back to the intersection they had past before. "I guess Peach really enjoys making people go down left paths." Marth said jokingly as Link lead them down the final path option.

And once again their headsets were filled with the silence of the area. No more explosions, only the sound of their echoing footsteps. Even Ness seemed quieter then normal, likely still embarrassed by what just happened. After a few moments, Marth finally broke the silence. "So, hey guys... I have a question."

"Yes, Marth?"

"What is it?!"

Marth stroked his chin in thought as they continued to walk. "It's about Luigi. Out of everyone in SSBM, he's the person I know the least about."

"What's your question about him, Marth?" Link asked, glancing back at his fellow swordsman.

"Well... just like... what can you tell me about him? I don't really know anything about him."

"Oh..." Link returned his gaze to the road in front of him. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know all too much about Luigi myself. He mostly hangs around with Mario when he's not with us and the guild."

Marth nodded. "Ah. I see."

"What I do know is that he's been playing since the start of the game... he bumped into Mario by accident and since apparently the two of their avatars are brothers in the back story, the two started to hang out alot more in the game." Link explained. "Then together, they won this event when it first came out. Mario was already famous at the time, being the first character to reach level one hundred, but it also made Luigi a bit famous. And he's also close to Peach, since he met her through Mario. They all just sorta clicked together."

"Why'd he join SSBM?"

Link shrugged. "I don't know. I guess Peach introduced him to Zelda or something. You'd have to ask him about that."

"Okay. And thats all you know about him."

"Pretty much."

"Oh!" Ness chimed in. "We do know he has a pretty well paying job in real life. Remember that day Link when he was talking about that thing? With the hose?"

Link chuckled. "Umm... Oh, right. I remember now. Haha, yeah."

Marth glanced back and forth between the two laughing members of his party. "What thing?"

The Hylian smiled. "Oh, don't worry about it Marth. You wouldn't get it unless you were there. It's sorta- oh..." The three stopped dead in their tracks and stared at what had just crossed their path. "...It's another dead end."

"OH COME ON!" Ness screamed, flailing his arms about.

Link chuckled nervously. "Uh, well... I guess we have to go back even farther then. Haha... uh..."

Ness growled and pushed forward, standing between the party and the wall. "No! If we can't get around this damn wall then we can go through it!" He crossed his arms across his chest and began to glow a light blue. Marth and Link quickly took a step back as they saw Ness raising his hands to his head, knowing what was coming next. "PK THUNDER GAMMA!" A huge ball of thunder shot out from Ness's head and up into the air, followed closely behind by a flashing tail of power. It spun about in the air for a moment before flying directly forward and slamming into the stone with a loud crash, causing a huge plume of dust to shot out and cover the trio in dirt. For a few moments the sound of cracking and falling stone was heard and soon the cloud disappeared. As it vanished, Ness was seen with a huge grin on his face, happily awaiting his work's results. However, his smile quickly faded upon seeing that the wall had taken not a single sign of damage.

"...Well that was anti-climatic..." Marth muttered after a moment of silence.

Ness couldn't help but fall to his knees after seeing his powerful attack fail. "CURSE YOU PEACH!" He shouted, slamming his fists on the floor.

Link laughed nervously. "Uh, well... you really can't blame her for making walls we're not suppose to break through unbreakable, you know."

"Yeah, well- uh!" Before Ness could finish the area around the three began to rumble. Ness quickly stood back up and Marth and Link reached for their swords.

"What's going on?" Marth asked, looking around.

Link began to look around the area. It didn't take him long to notice after he heard Ness let out a scream. "There!"

Coming from the wall Ness had just attacked were two, long, arm shaped stones creeping outwards and reaching for Ness. They grabbed Ness in it's palms and began to pull the boy back towards the wall. "Help!" Shouted the psychic as he tried to squeeze out of the stone hands but to no avail.

Link and Marth wasted no time in drawing their swords and charing to either side of one of the stone arms. With one quick swipe of their blades, the stone arms were severed from the wall and collapsed onto the labyrinth floor, exploding into smaller pieces of rubble when they did. Once the arms were gone, Marth and Link jumped back and prepared themselves for another attack. A second later the area began to rumble again, but this time the wall they were facing began to crumble and soon it was reduced to nothing but pieces of stones on the floor. Once the dust cleared, in front of the trio was the continuation of the pathway they had been walking on.

Link and Marth exchanged confused glances between each other and the new pathway in front of them while Ness muttered weakly, "Oh... well... that worked..."

--

-Else where in the Labyrinth-

"Here! Just take it!" Shouted a human swordsman who was pressed up against one of the huge stone walls cowering. In his outreaching hand was his Face of Evil. "Just get away from me!"

In front of the player were three cloaked figures, the one in front with the proud number six upon it's hood. At either side of the other two cloaked players were the broken, gray bodies of what at one time was the swordsman's party. The cloaked player with the six on it's hood bent down and took the Face of Evil from the player's shaking hand. "Good." He hissed, putting it within his cloak. He turned away from the cowering player and nodded to the cloaked figure on his left, who took out a gun and shot the swordsman three times before he fell over, his body turning gray as it was warped out of the field. "We're on a roll. That makes three already. Just one more."

The three cloaked players turned to leave down the long path in front of them but stopped as the cloaked leader raised his hand to his ear, as if hearing something from an earpiece. "Hold on a minute you two. I have a whisper."

**BOWSER: Serpent, you there?  
"SERPENT": Yes, Lord Bowser.  
BOWSER: How is the mission coming along? Have you gotten Zelda yet?  
"SERPENT": Uh, no... the second part of the event just started itself. We're almost onto the third part, though.  
BOWSER: ...  
"SERPENT": I know, it's... uh, well...  
"SERPENT": I'm going as fast as I can...**

Serpent gulped after a few moments past with no response. "Uh..."

**"SERPENT": Lord Bowser?  
BOWSER: ...  
BOWSER: Have you taken out any members from that guild Zelda belongs too? SSBM?  
"SERPENT": I haven't run into any of them yet.  
BOWSER: What do you mean you haven't run into any of them yet!?  
BOWSER: You know, nevermind, I don't want to know.  
BOWSER: Just make sure you bring back Zelda to us and delete anyone who tries to stop you. Understood?  
"SERPENT": Of course!  
BOWSER: Good. Get on your way then.  
"SERPENT": Yes, Lord Bowser.**

Once the conversation was over, Serpent lowered his hand and let out a slightly nervous sigh of relief. "All right. Listen up, I have a mission for you. I want us to split up and you two hunt down any members from Zelda's guild or Mario and his party. If you find any of them, exterminate them. This way we won't have anyone standing in our way of Zelda!" The other two cloaked players nodded without question and raced down the pathway. Once the two turned the corner, Serpent spun about and began to walk the opposite way.

"Geez..." Serpent whispered to himself as he made a right turn. "Talking to Lord Bowser like that is so nerve racking... I wonder how they do it all the time..."

--

-Bowser's Castle-

Bowser sat alone in his dark throne room, a transparent screen floating in front of him. It displayed the conversation that he and his warlock had just had. With a growl, Bowser flicked his monstrous wrist and dismissed the screen, which in turn brought up a new screen to float in front of the hacker. On this screen were the silhouettes of the seven cloaked warlocks. "Serpent, Maiden, Devil and Deceiver are all busy with that stupid event in one way or another." Bowser spoke, tapping the images of each warlock as he named them off. He brought his claw over to the seventh and newest warlock. "Fist is spending all his time training for that stupid team tournament... Blade hasn't logged on in a while..." He leaned back into his chair and folded his claws. "That just leaves Euthanasia... where is he?"

With another flick of his wrist the screen vanished once again. After a moment or so of Bowser's player searching, another transparent screen appeared before the hacker, this time showing the message boards. "What's this?" He whispered to himself, leaning forward to get a better look.

"Lord Bowser!" Bowser looked slightly to the left to see who had shouted his name. From the shadows bursted a cloaked figure with a number two upon their hood. They quickly ran in front of the hacker's throne and bent down on one knee. "Sorry, sorry!" Apologized the Warlock, Blade, who kept his head low. "I'm sorry I haven't been on in forever, it's just I've been so swamped with real life problems I just couldn't get onto the game!"

Bowser never gave the Warlock a second glance. Instead his entire attention was focused on reading the message board post that his search engine had found for him. After a minute of skimming through replies, Bowser finally acknowledged the Warlock. "Blade..." He began, which cause the player to raise his head. "I want you to find and bring me Dr. Mario."

"Dr. Mario?" Blade asked, standing back upright. "The PKer?"

"Yes." Bowser flicked away the screen once again and his gaze fell to Blade. "It seems he put himself on invisible so I can't contact him. And I'm much too busy right now to scour the game searching for him. So I want you to find him and bring him to me. I think he knows something and I'd like to find out what."

"Yes, Lord Bowser. Right away!" After a quick salute to his leader, Blade turned and walked out of the chamber, leaving Bowser alone once again.

--

-Labyrinth of Koridai-

"PK THUNDER GAMMA!"

A loud boom echoed through-out the labyrinth followed by the sound of rocks crumbling and breaking inside a thick cloud of smoke. It took a few minutes for the smoke to disappear before Ness, Marth and Link could see that Ness's attack on the wall in front of them had once again failed. But this time, Link and Marth were standing ready with their swords drawn and awaiting an attack from the wall. But after about a minute, no huge stone arms sprung from the wall and the trio lowered their guard. "I guess this was just another normal dead end." Link confirmed, sheathing his sword.

"Looks like we'll have to go back to the last intersection." Said Marth.

"Just give me a second to restore my MP." Ness said quickly, sitting down on the floor with his eyes closed. "I'd rather not use an MP restoring item when I can just rest."

Link and Marth stared at Ness's unmoving body as their players offline watched the blue bar under Ness's HP slowly rise. "I didn't think Peach would make this maze so confusing." Link spoke as he crossed his arms. "This is starting to even get me a bit frustrated. How long have we been wandering around? About a half hour now?"

"Feels like more." Replied Marth with an exasperated sigh. "How much longer till we find our first rival team? It couldn't take that long could it!?"

Ness let out a low chuckle. "I don't know why you're in such a hurry. We all know what'll happen when we do bump into them."

Upon hearing Ness's remark, Link's face quickly filled with worry while the blue haired swordsman glared at the psychic. "What exactly do you mean by that?" Marth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh great..." Muttered Link, dropping his head with a sigh.

Not too far away, a group of players were making their way down the dark passage when unfamiliar sound reached their headsets. The first one to stop was the pokemon swordsman, who raised it's hand to stop the rest of the party from walking. "Do you hear that, Nabooru?" Whispered the pokemon, Zippo.

Nabooru stopped and glanced about the labyrinth. She grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Sounds like a bunch of idiots complaining to each other."

Zippo chuckled. "Looks like we found our first team. Get ready guys..."

"...So you don't think I could take another swordsman?!" Marth shouted at Ness as the three turned a corner.

"I don't think, I know you can't!" Ness retorted. "You could barely stay alive with the Herold and Din fights! And those were just monsters!"

"Uh, hello! Who was on the floor with no energy during the Herold fight?!"

Link sighed and lowered his head. "I guess I had hoped for too much..." He muttered. After a sad sigh he raised his head again and after doing so, two figures came into his line of sight. Upon seeing the two he let out a gasp of surprise which caught the others attention. "Looks like we got company."

Ness snickered a bit as he watched Link and Marth withdraw their swords. "Well, looks like its time to put your money where your mouth is, newbie!"

Marth growled at Ness's comment but didn't pay him anymore mind. Instead he squinted his eyes and quickly noticed the familiar figures at the other end of the path. "Hey guys! It's those two! The Pokemon and the Gerudo."

On the other side of the long corridor the identity of their challengers was also becoming clearer. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Nabooru comment, placing a hand on her hip. "Its _them_."

Zippo's grin grew even larger after noticing who it was. "This is perfect Nabooru. Think all the fame we might get by being the ones who eliminated the guys who rigged the event! We'd be almost as famous as Mario!"

"You really think so?" Asked the Gerudo, looking down at her pokemon party member.

"Uh... Yeah... well, maybe... if people believe us..." Nabooru raised an eyebrow at Zippo's answer, to which the Pokemon just shook its head. "Just forget it! Let's kick their ass!"

Nabooru grinned. "Sounds good to me."

After exchanging a nod, the two players began to make their way down the path towards the trio. "What are they doing? They're coming towards us!" Marth said, taking a step back.

Link prepared his sword and shield as the two entered striking distance. Neither side spoke once Zippo and Nabooru reached the party until Link finally broke the silence. "...So," He began.

"...How do we start this?" Zippo finished with a smug grin. An uneasy silence fell upon the five players, each not wanting to speak up. "Hmph. Well, I guess I'll just count to three then. And at three we'll start."

"...Sounds fine." Link replied, his eyes not leaving his soon to be targets. "Whenever you're ready."

The groups once again fell silent. Zippo's eyes quickly darted back and forth between Link and Marth a few times before chuckling under it's breath. "...One... Two..." Tension filled the air between the two teams, Link and Marth appearing ready to lunge at the drop of a hat while Nabooru herself stood poised for battle. "Two and a half..." Zippo finally spoke in a taunting tone.

A pause. Neither side made a move, all eyes focused in on Zippo. "...Uh!" With only a second to react, Link turned to his left only to see a fist collide directly in his face. Nabooru's punch was a lucky critical hit, sending the Hylian flying across the path and slamming into the opposite wall.

Marth turned in horror just in time to see Link smash into the stone. "Link!" He shouted, turning to face his fallen friend.

"FOCUS!"

Ness's cry quickly turned Marth attention back to Zippo, however only just in time to see the little pokemon flying mid-air towards the swordsman, it's saber prepared for a strike. He prepared to counter the oncoming attack, but it was clear Marth's technique wouldn't make it in time. "Too slow!" Zippo shouted as it apporched Marth. It sliced its sword three times across Marth's torso before pulling back and thrusting one final strike straight into his chest. The resulting attack sent Marth into the air and soaring backwards, past Ness and smashing into the ground a good while back. "Ha! Weakling."

Ness was the only one prepared of the three. "PK Fire Beta!" The boy pointed his fingers towards the two players, who both jumped up and out of the way of the lightening bolt that exploded into a quick burst of flames where they stood only moments before.

"That wasn't very fair!" Link muttered as his avatar regained his balance. A cure from Ness followed shortly. "You didn't even count to three!"

"Oops! Was my chat on team only?" Zippo taunted with a laugh. "Nabooru, get the psychic!"

"Right!"

Nabooru jumped into the air and pulled out a large gray disk. It exploded into small colorful pieces of data, and when it did, Nabooru vanished into thin air. "Cloaker..." Link looked behind him and saw that Marth had already gotten off the floor and regained his balance. "Marth, take out Zippo! I'm protecting Ness!"

"Got it."

Link jumped backwards to where near Ness was standing and prepared his shield while Marth gripped his sword and barreled towards Zippo. The Pokemon also readied itself to engage in combat with the swordsman, but as Marth apporched within striking distance and swung his glowing blue blade, Zippo, instead of moving to block the attack, jumped backwards and dodged as Marth's blade smashed into the stone ground. Chuckling, Zippo raised its blade vertically and placed it's left fingers upon the blade. A second later the blade began to glow and the pokemon began to move its weapon about in a random sequences of swipes. "Element Water!" Zippo finally spoke once the character finished swinging the blade. "Waterfall!"

Once Zippo spoke, a blue circle appeared in front of the pokemon. In the middle of the circle were the random strikes of the sword, all glowing blue. They only remained on the screen for a moment, as a second later, shooting out from the circle was a large burst of water surging towards Marth. "What the-!" Marth didn't have time to react before he was completely submerged by the flowing water. Once the water covered the swordsman, it began to circulate around him, keeping out of reach of Link and Ness who were watching in awe.

"A Dark Blade..." Muttered the Hylian.

"GERUDO PUNCH!"

Link barely had a moment to react to the call of Nabooru's attack. In one quick motion, Link shifted his position from in front of Ness to behind him just in time to raise his shield and block the thunderous punch coming from Nabooru. Her fist, which was glowing a bright red with magical support, delivered such force that even with the shield protecting him, Link suffered a small amount of recoil damage. "Heh. Sucks that the game makes us scream the attack names sometimes, huh?" Link spoke while holding off her attack. "Maybe they should make it an option." Nabooru didn't reply. Instead, she growled and pulled her fist back, but quickly followed up with a swift kick aimed at Link's head. The Hylian managed to dodge by ducking down, and once her leg had passed, Link sprung back up quickly and struck Nabooru directly in her chest with his blade. With a screech, Nabooru jumped back to avoid another attack and the two began to stare each other down.

"Ness, help out Marth. I'll keep you safe." Link whispered to the boy, not once taking his eyes off the gerudo.

Ness nodded quickly and pointed his hand out towards the ball of water that encased Marth. "PSI Shield Beta!" A blue orb shot forward into the swirling waters, disappearing within the magic spell. The waters continued to swirl about for a moment or so after, but the water soon quickly exploded outward, vanishing as it did, leaving only Marth standing where it once was, covered in the blue PSI shield.

"Hey wow..." Marth muttered once the spell had been lifted. To his surprise, even when he did not have Ness's shield, the spell had done very little damage to him. "That was pretty weak!"

Zippo once again brought its blade into its vertical position. "Even a Pokemon Dark Blade can't do that much damage with a single magic spell." As Zippo spoke, it began to swing its blade in another random assortment of swipes. "Thats why we need to combine them."

While Marth was still slightly stunned from the last magic spell, Ness took quick notice of the pokemon's spell casting. He brought his left arm to his head and held out his right before shouting his next attack, "PK Freeze Alpha!" A small ball of light blue energy shot forward towards Zippo but it was too late to stop the Pokemon's attack.

"Element Lightening! Thunderbolt!" Zippo chanted, just as Ness's spell hit, turning the pokemon into a block of ice.

A dark cloud appeared over Marth's head, and from it shot down a powerful bolt of lightening, striking the swordsman dead on. Marth's avatar screamed, the PSI shield shattered and MAJOR HIT 120 DAM floated above his head. "The waterfall made it stronger... Life Up Beta, Life Up Beta!" Ness shouted, healing Marth with two cures. "I guess thats how Dark Blades work."

Marth's avatar was charred black with soot and stumbling about. "Woah... I think I just got owned..." He muttered, shaking the black powder from his body.

"What are you doing! The Pokemon is frozen! Kill it you newb!" Cried Ness, pointing a finger at the frozen block.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Marth charged towards the helpless Zippo, blade raised above his head. As he neared the block, he jumped into the air and prepared to bring the blade crashing down upon the block, until the block itself exploded, sending ice chucks and mist everywhere. Marth, while blinded, didn't stop the attack, and instead of crashing into Zippo, a loud metallic echo rang out across the labyrinth. Marth and Zippo had locked swords and were now in a battle for dominance over the other. For a moment, the two remained deadlocked, but Marth's strength soon began to take effect, pushing the little Pokemon's blade down ever so slightly. "Heh. You're not that strong if you're already losing to me!"

"I'm a Pokemon, what do you expect!" Zippo snarled.

It didn't take long for Marth to finally overpower the Pokemon and caused Zippo to flail his sword up in the air, giving Marth an easy strike at Zippo's chest. Marth swung his blade quickly, striking the Pokemon for a decent amount of damage, which pushed the dark blade backwards slightly. Not wasting a minute, Marth charged forward, his blade glowing blue as he prepared to Dolphin Slash the foe. Zippo saw the swordsman coming and attempted to block, but Marth's speed was greater then Zippos, and the poor Pokemon was sent flying into the air screaming by the powerful Dolphin Slash. Zippo crashed into the stone floor not too far off from Marth, moaning as it tried to stand back up. "Ha!"

Back with Link, Nabooru had finally decided to charge in towards the Hylian, her fist prepared to deal another critical blow. She swung, and Link ducked once again, but this time instead of swinging with his sword, he delivered a kick to Nabooru, pushing her back slightly, but causing her to freeze momentarily. With the moment he had to spare, Link reached behind him and pulled out a boomerang. He positioned himself to throw and with a quick flick, it was sent spinning towards Nabooru, who gracefully dodged. "Nice miss, dude." She said with a grin.

"Really..."

From behind Nabooru the boomerang began to turn back around. Continuing its deadly spin, it hurled itself back towards Link, the gerudo the only thing standing in between. But, once again, with another graceful dodge, Nabooru managed to avoid the returning boomerang. Link caught it and placed it back into his inventory while Nabooru began to cackle. "Yeah, really. Haha- uh..." Nabooru's chuckling quickly turned to panic as she noticed her character being pushed towards the Hylian in front of her. She glanced behind her to see that there was a small hurricane following the boomerang's return's journey and now this hurricane was pulling her in closer to the swordsman. Looking back towards Link she saw that he had bent down so that his sword was closer to the ground and once she had reached close enough to the Hylian, he swung his sword upward in an arch over his head, dealing a large amount of damage to the warrior but also flipping her up into the air. "Aah!"

"See? I didn't miss. Ness!"

Link's attack had launched Nabooru helplessly into the air and flying back towards where Marth and Zippo were. Ness, who stood in the middle, watched as the large Gerudo passed overhead and couldn't help but chuckle. He then brought his hands to his forward and shouted, "PK Thunder Beta!", causing the orb of lightening to shot from his skull and chase down the Gerudo, zapping her and causing her to fall back down to earth right ontop of the recently recovered Zippo.

A grin quickly found its way to Marth's face. "Guys, we're doing so awesome!"

"You bet." Ness replied with a nod. "These guys never stood a chance. Of course."

"Uuggh... Zippo... they're kicking our asses!" Nabooru moaned as she stood back up.

Zippo growled upon hearing Nabooru's complaint. "Yeah, I _noticed_. Looks like we can't beat them two on three..."

"So, hey... do you guys surrender?" Marth asked smiling. "Cause if you do, we could end it now and you guys could be on your merry way!"

"Hardly." Replied the Pokemon. It quickly changed its attention to its partner, "Nabooru, I think we'll have to have him fight after all."

Nabooru smirked. "Fine by me."

"We haven't even begun to fight you three yet." Announced Zippo. "Haven't you guys noticed anything... about us? You know? That doesn't add up?"

Marth scratched his head and leaned forward to examine the two. "Um... no?"

Link and Ness took a bit longer before answering. "Two." Ness spoke quickly. "There's only two of them."

Zippo chuckled. "Bingo."

"So where is your other player?" Asked the blue haired swordsman. "I don't think its all that fair to be fighting you guys two on three."

"We thought we'd defeat you too quickly with all three of us fighting."

"I guess we underestimated them." Nabooru mused, reaching into her back pocket. She pulled out a tomato, which vanished a moment later.

Zippo did the same. Once the two were healed, the pokemon cried out, "Alright, whenever you're ready bro!"

The three players were quick to return to battle position, waiting for a surprise attack. Marth gripped his sword tighter, Link moved in closer to Ness and the psychic boy casted two quick PSI shields on the two swordsmen. After about a minute of no surprise action, Marth finally spoke up, "I think your friend ditched you!" The two didn't reply. Instead they just smiled. "Why are you two-" Marth sentence was cut short by a strange flash of light that covered his entire monitor. By the grunts of Ness and Link, he assumed it happened to them as well. It didn't take long for the white on his screen to fade, but when it did finally dissipate, what was left in it's place was even stranger. "What the..." No longer was Marth standing in the middle of the dark labyrinth across from Zippo and Nabooru. Now, instead, on all sides of the swordsman were psychedelic colors swirling about, flashing bright greens, blues, reds and yellows as they traveled across his screen. There was a large, smiling sun in the sky, as well as random flowers and balloons, each with their own happy faces. An upbeat song filled Marth's headset and dancing to the tune were various strange creatures, such as a half human, half butterfly looking woman, and black human shaped creatures holding blue maracas.

It didn't take long for Link to notice what had caused his screen to also fill with the flashing bright colors. "Bard! It's a bard!"

"...D! ... Ard!"

Marth looked over his shoulder back to where Link would have been standing had Marth's screen not been consumed with dancing creatures and bright colorful lights. "Link? Was that Link?" The song itself was playing so loudly that Link's cries to his party members was muffled, making his discovery inaudible. He glanced back to where he thought his two foes were standing just in time to see his character lurch backwards from a strike to Marth's face. "A punch?!" Marth asked no one, his avatar rubbing the cheek where he took damage. To counter the next blow, Marth raised his sword and charged forward, hoping to hit one of the two foes blindly. Instead, another blow came smashing into Marth's back as he charged, dealing 40 DAM and knocking the swordsman to the colorful floor. "Ugh! I can't see them!"

"..ment arth!"

Marth stumbled to his feet and entered the stance for his counter technique. "I can hear them at least..."

"Ra... Eaf!"

The swordsman prepared himself for Zippo's latest attack, which appeared to him as a bunch of purple flowers soaring towards him. The unfortunate thing for Marth was that they came at him not from front or behind, but from below. "Yaaah!" Shouted Marth's avatar as he was consumed in an uprising current of smiling purple flowers, each dealing about 10 damage a piece as the collided. The resulting shock wave sent the swordsman into the air, where he was quickly hit with what was most likely a kick to the stomach by Nabooru, smashing him into the ground and lowering his HP to red. "I don't even know... which way is up or down..." He muttered weakly as his avatar struggled to stand back up.

A rare grimace found its way to Link's face as he watched Marth's HP bar drop. "They're using the Bard to disorient us. Ness, if you can hear me, heal Marth!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an item before running off in the direction he thought Marth would be laying.

Marth, wounded and weak, managed to roll onto his back. He was hesitant to stand up, since the colorful surroundings made him unsure of weather he was on the ground of somewhere in the sky. "Ugh... this sucks..." He reached into his pocket and held up a tomato, which instead of disappearing, smiled and floated up into the rainbow surrounding him. "Great... huh?" As Marth stared into the bright changing colors, he noticed too dark figures standing to the left of the dancing butterfly girl. It was a hazy image, but soon he could make out that the figures belonged to Zippo and Nabooru, who were standing nearly on top of him. Around them, the colors were slowly beginning to fade away. "Is it almost over?" He whispered to himself, trying to stand. However, upon moving, his log quickly lit up:

**You've been effected with SAMBA! **

"Oh great, now what!" Marth shouted, his avatar struggling to stand. "Crap, I can't... I can't stand!"

His focus quickly returned to the two figures standing above him. "L... fin... im." Spoke the smaller one, Zippo.

"Go... it" Nabooru pulled back her fist and Marth clearly saw it starting to glow a different shade of red then the fading crimson in his field of vision. At the same time, Zippo lifted its blade and was preparing to strike Marth down. Unable to move, there was no way Marth could dodge or counter, so he helplessly awaited his fate. The two launched their attacks... but they were quickly covered by a new figure, which moved in between Marth and his attack.

"SAMBA!" Echoed an disembodied voice. As it shouted, the psychedelic colors disappeared, and Marth could once again see the labyrinth, his attacks and his saviour clearly. Smiling, Marth said quietly, "Thanks again Link."

Link stood in the way of the two's attack, his blade locked against Zippo's while his shield took the blow from Nabooru's punch. On his long Hylian ears he wore a set of fashionable pink earmuffs. "Are you freaking kidding me?!" Zippo growled, pushing back Link's own saber. "Earmuffs?! Who brings ear muffs to a PvP event!"

"Heh. I'm not stupid." Link chuckled. "Events like this are perfect times to try out different sets of classes in PvP combat." The Hylian pulled his sword back, causing Zippo to fall forward towards Marth. With his sword free, he turned to face Nabooru and slashed at her, getting a direct hit and pushing her back a few feet. He then quickly took out his boomerang and threw it at her again, striking her dead on in the face, knocking her back even more and onto the ground. Link quickly spun around just in time to catch Zippo's blade once again with his own. They exchanged clanking swipes of their blades for a few moments before Link finally found an opening, jabbed Zippo in its chest and disabled the Pokemon for a short while. Link took the chance to swing his sword horizontally across Zippo's body, dealing 65 damage and sent the dark blade tumbling backwards towards where Nabooru now laid. "If a person is smart enough, they should be prepared for any job in this type of event."

Marth laughed. "Those are certainly handy." He said, pointing to the Hylian's wonderful earmuffs. "What do they do? You have any extras?"

"They cancel out a Bard's song." He explained quickly. "More importantly, can you move?" Marth attempted to stand, but once again his log announced he was effected by 'Samba'. "Samba is a spell cast by Bards. It effects each class differently."

"What's a Bard?"

"They use songs to fight - Ness!" Link turned around to search for the psychic. "Ness, can you use remove?" He soon noticed that Ness was also laying on the ground, grasping his large head with both hands and rolling about in pain. "Samba will stop a psychic from casting spells and a swordsman from moving... Ugh, great." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of milk. He tossed it towards Marth, and it exploded mid-way to the swordsman. "That should have removed Samba."

Marth nodded and once again tried to stand. This time, however, he quickly rose to his feet. Once standing, he took out a tomato and recovered some much needed health. "Do you have another one for Ness?" Marth asked, referring to the bottle of milk. Link nodded and turned around to run back to Ness to get within activation distance of the item.

"Ugggh..." Moaned Zippo as it sat up, rubbing it's lizard like head. "Are you serious? That one guy held us both off?"

Nabooru rose again to her feet and growled. "He must be an expert PvPer. He thought ahead to bring earmuffs, after all... Bards are never used for PvP. Normal players wouldn't know better to do that."

After a moment to contemplate the new predicament, Zippo finally shouted out, "Yo Bard! Buff us!"

"...Are you okay Ness?"

Ness nodded in reply to Link's question having the Samba effect completely removed. "Wow, they did a number on the newbie huh?" Muttered the boy after seeing Marth's weakened HP bar. "Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta! Life Up Beta!"

"Here, take this." Link traded Ness a pair of earmuffs. "I only brought two pairs... It's extremely rare to see a Bard in PvP. Use it to cancel out the effect of their next song... but be careful it doesn't last that long."

"Thanks." Link helped the boy to his feet and the two turned their attention back towards Zippo and Nabooru, who were now both standing and plotting their next move. "... Link! Watch it!"

Ness's shout was quickly heeded by Link, who moved to the left just in time to see three light blue rings zip past him on the labyrinth floor. The rings zipped along the stone ground, past an oblivious Marth and were heading straight towards the two enemy players. It took Link a minute, but once he realized what those rings were, his face quickly dropped. "No... were those..."

Before he could finish, silver light erupted around their two foes, covering their avatars completely in it's glow. "Ah! Did I blow them up or something?!" Marth shouted in surprise, taken back by the sudden explosion. "What just happened?"

Link's normally happy face was now filled with worry. "The reason that Bards aren't that common in PvP." He began. "They're like Buffers in a PvP set up. It's just their buffs are much more specific and you can only have one on at a time. Normally, a party can't use a Bard's buff in PvP, since it'll help one member but hurt another." The silvery light began to fade and the two figures, Zippo and Nabooru, were now covered in a light silvery lining. "But if a party can manage to use the Bard's buff in PvP..."

"What does that mean for us?" Asked Marth, taking a step back towards his party members.

"It means we could be in trouble."

CONTINUE...?


	24. LOGIN 23

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers or any related game series that may appear in this story. I may own the ideas of the mmo, but meh, not like they'll be put into action!

A/N: Hello all five of you who are still reading this! I figure since its been almost a half a year since I last updated I'd have to atleast explain myself. See the thing is, I have the entire SSBO plot line written out (I mean everything). Whenever I look at it, I sigh and make myself put off writing more to the chapter because it feels like so much to do in such a short period of time. Either way, I had an on again-off again relationship with the story, writing here and there and not really committing. I wasn't inspired, per say and didn't want chapters to be crap. When I finally started writing again, I wanted to finish the next two chapters for a double update, but unfortunately my laptop crashed and I lost the fic I had written. I'd considered giving up, but this story is too much fun to just drop... plus, I had luckly sent to my e-mail address the plot a few months prior, so I was able to pick up writing again. So I'd like to apologize to everyone who has been waiting nearly half a year for this update. School, work and personal relationships burdened me and I couldn't find the time to write. And now, in my free time, I make no claims to say "I'm back", but I'm proud to present you with the latest chapter in this series.

Thank you to everyone who still reads this or is just finishing their first time through and got up to this point. I also want to say that I didn't really reply to any reviewers of the last chapter since I wasn't sure who I answered and who I didn't. But if you send in a review with a PMable account or something for a question or comment, I will write you back with my thanks and answer. Thanks again buddies!

**Super Smash Brothers: ONLINE  
LOGIN #23: Team**

-Labyrinth of Koridai-

The second leg of the legendary quest, Attack on the Castle had been going on for little under 45 minutes, and yet still the sounds of swords clashing, magic casting and players shouting echoed across the otherwise eerily silent level. All through out the winding and twisting corridors, teams stood against one another, some battling their third match, and others still only just starting on their first foe. Of the original sixteen teams to advance to the second round, five of them have already been completely eliminated while seven others have lost all but one of their Faces of Evil. And yet still they fight on, all hoping for the elusive chance of being the first team to claim the four tokens needed to advance to the final round, and an opportunity to be known server wide as the Legendary Heros. Once such team who hopes to gain access to the final area is that of Link, Marth and Ness, who finally stood in their first, and possibility their last battle of the second round.

Link, Marth and Ness watched powerlessly as the silver light danced about their enemies avatars. The buff, which had been cast from an unseen Bard continued to swirl about the players for another moment before it finally faded and Zippo and Nabooru appeared once again. The only visible difference that a buff had even taken place was that now around both of their characters a small silver lining glistened in the dark light of the cave. "Woah, woah, woah! Check it out!" Zippo proclaimed as the small pokemon glanced at its hands. "My attack stat is off the charts! My speed is epic!"

"Yes, mine too." Nabooru chimed in, balling her fists. "I guess in PvP, the Bard's buffs are multiplied."

With a low chuckle, the two turned their deadly gazes upon the three players infront of them. Zippo couldn't help but grin at the situation. "We'll have no trouble crushing them now."

Although they couldn't hear what the two other players were talking about it, it was obvious that it wasn't in their best interest to let them complete it. Link's normally cheerful face was replaced with one of deep concern as he plotted their next move against the team. "Alright guys... we're in trouble."

Marth looked over to his Hylian friend with a frown. "How so?"

"Bard buffs raise a players stats nearly tenfold in PvP... however, it's offset by the fact that the buff only buffs certain stats and lowers others. Bard's also have a high recharge time on their songs, so it's unlikely that this Bard will be able to cast another song soon."

"What do you suggest we do about the two who are buffed right now?" Asked Ness as he took a step back, making sure that Link and Marth were well in front of him.

Link's ever-watchful eyes never left the two opposing players, watching for any signs of an offense. "I... I'm not sure. I don't know what buff was cast, so until they-" Link's sentence was cut short as both Nabooru and Zippo jumped in the air and vanished within a quick blur of silver. "Oh! It's a speed and strength buff!" Without a moments hesitation, Link spun around on his heal and turned to face his psychic companion. "Ness!"

The hylian turned just in time to see Nabooru appeared in the air shortly above Ness, her right fist pulled in a prepared punch. The gerudo had traveled behind the group at such a speed that Ness didn't even have time to react to the assault, merely noticing the incoming attack moments after Link did. Without the high speed necessary to dodge the assault, the only thing Ness could do is watch helplessly as Nabooru closed in for her kill. But then, at the last second a body moved in between the two colliding forces. Link, with his higher then normal speed managed to step in between the attacker and raise his shield to block just in time, barely making it to Ness's defense with only a moment to spare. But it was not without consequence, Nabooru hit Link's shield with such force from her Bard buff that both Link and Ness's avatars let out small yelps of pain as the shock-wave from the punch rippled across their avatars and reduced their HP bars by 20.

Once the shock-waves ended, Nabooru's once confident attacking composure was changed to an angry grimace as the two fought for dominance. "You again... constantly getting in my way." She hissed at Link, who simply smiled confidently at her displeasure.

Marth, who had been the last to notice Nabooru's attack turned to see if his friends had survived the attack. "Link! Ness! Are you two-"

"Ha, you're wide open!" Wide-eyed, Marth turned back around just as a recently appeared Zippo swung it's vertically down Marth's avatar. The resulting attack had Marth shout out in pain and sent his avatar careening into the labyrinth wall. With one single swipe of it's blade, Zippo had managed to reduce Marth's health bar by about half.

Link took quick notice of his teammates plight. "Ness!"

"Life Up Beta!" Ness shouted, healing their wounded swordsman. He followed up with a PSI Shield to protect Marth, although their efforts came off as laughable to Zippo.

"Haha, do whatever the heck you guys want. As long as our Bard remains alive, these buffs will stay on. So the choice is yours, give up now, or let us pound you into rubble." It taunted, one small hand on its lizard hip.

Despite having Nabooru's powerful fist pressing against his weakening defense, Link smiled calmly. "I think I'll let Marth answer that."

Zippo raised an eyebrow at Link but had it's attention quickly drawn back to the crator where the pokemon had just sent their blue haired swordsman. "Yaa!" Came the shout of a loud battle cry, shocking the unprepared pokemon. From the rubble emerged Marth, holding his sword at his side horizontally. While glowing in a light blue aura, Marth delivered one powerful thrust forward into the dead center of Zippo's small chest, causing the Pokemon to scream out in anguish, fly backwards nearly half away down the hall and all the while dealing critical damage and reducing Zippo's life bar by nearly half. Once the glowing stopped, Marth looked rather shocked at what he had just done. "Uh... woah, um, was that attack really that strong?" He asked as he watched Zippo's rolling body finally come to a stop.

Link just couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Marth's random question. Then, returning his attention to the threat at hand, he mustered all of his strength into one quick push with his shield, pushing Nabooru's fist away and leaving her wide open for a frontal attack. "Well, sorry to burst your bubble Marth but no, it wasn't. You see the downside of the buff they have..." Link positioned his sword for the strike. "It gives them nearly no defense." With a lightening quick thrust, Link rammed his blade into the chest of Nabooru, the gerudo crying out in agony as she collided into the near by labyrinth wall. Giving no moment for her to recover, Link charged towards her in an attempt to finish off her remaining heal, but as he approached the seemingly stunned player, she raised her leg and kicked Link straight in the chin. The resulting shock pushed Link backwards and onto the ground, his sword and shield slipping away from his hands. Taking advantage of the opportunity to escape, Nabooru pushed herself off the wall and into the air, vanishing in a blur a moment later.

"Are you okay Link?" Marth asked as Ness healed their friend to about eighty percent health. The last strike by Nabooru, however small it seemed, nearly depleted the Hylian's HP bar. "That was a close one."

"You're telling me." Link muttered as he reclaimed his sword and shield. Once armed he peered out in front of them and saw Nabooru and Zippo standing a good distance away, both looking relatively weak from the last two attacks. Despite their weakened status, Link frowned. "To finish them off we need to get close to them... which is extremely dangerous as it is."

"I'll cast some PSI Shields to protect you." Ness commented as his avatar entered the casting animation.

Marth grinned as his body was encased within the protective PSI Shield. "Great! With this defense bonus we shouldn't have to worry about being one hit killed, right Link?" Even hearing Marth's somewhat naive optimism wasn't enough to shake the concerned look on the warriors face. "What's wrong?"

Not entirely too sure why himself, Link continued to watch the panting foes in front of them for any clues to their next attack. Unsure of why he couldn't put his finger on it, Link cautiously positioned himself for their next assault. "I'm not sure. It's too dangerous to move in to attack them, we should wait for them to make the first move... but for people buffed to the extreme they aren't really...!" Just as before, three white rings zipped along the floor of the labyrinth, passing the trio by and zooming right up to the weakened enemies in front of them. As the rings hit their target the two were once again engulfed in a bright light, this time a blinding white light that was accompanied by a chorus of heavenly chanting. Once the light dimmed, Link felt his heart drop as he noticed their HP bars refilled to perfect health. "They have a pretty experienced Bard if he's able to cast healing spells. Be on your toes, we need to finish these two off in their next attack!"

Taking heed to Link's warning, Marth positioned his sword for defense and waited. As watchful and observant as a strange newbie hawk, he not once broke eye contact with the duo... until suddenly they were replaced by an array of streaming multicolor, floating every which way across his screen. "Oh, great! This again!" Marth shouted aloud just as the smiling sun took it's place in the rainbow colored sky and the cheerful latin music played. Fortunately for Marth, this visit to the strange Bard-induced world ended rather abruptly as his monitor quickly reverted back to the normal PvP arena. Surprised, he made a quick check of the chat log.

**NESS uses RECOVER on LINK!  
NESS uses RECOVER on MARTH!**

Marth turned around and smiled at Ness, giving the psychic a thumbs up. "Thanks, Ness."

Ness, who was now wearing a stylish pair of pink ear-muffs, didn't seem to take all that well to Marth's compliment. Instead he pointed towards Marth and screamed at the swordsman, "Behind you, stupid!"

Quickly turning on his heals Marth made it just in time to come face to face with Zippo, who's sword was bearing down upon him with ferocious force. He raised his own blade just in time to meet the pokemons, engaging a duel for dominace between the swordsmen. But within a moment of their swords clashing it became apparent which held the upper hand, Zippo's buffed blade was rapidly pushing Marth's out of the way. "Why don't you just lay down and die, huh?! It'll be easier for the both of our teams! Or better yet, just type /resign!" Taunted the powerful pokemon as Marth's avatar struggled to hold its power. "You'll be doing us both a favor!"

Between fighting to keep his sword and HP bar from falling and wondering just where Nabooru vanished off too, Marth's last thought on his mind was taunt. Growling, he said to his opponent. "Why... Why don't you just... shut up."

Zippo let out a low chuckle as it pushed Marth's sword closer out his hands. "Haven't played PvP much, have you newb?"

Helplessly, Marth watched his avatar's grip on his Falchion slip quicker and quicker until finally it was struck from his hands and sent falling to the ground with a metallic clank. The unarmed Marth stood awaiting Zippo's next blow, the pokemon all too happy to deliver it. "Gah! I could use some help here!"

"PK THUNDER BETA!"

No sooner did those words echo out across the field did the orb of dark blue PSI energy hover above Zippos head, posed and ready to smash down on the pokemon with all it's force. Taking notice of the sudden attack, Zippo bounced backwards and out of the line of the attack, the thunder orb smashing harmlessly into the floor. This time instead of thanking the psychic, Marth bent down and reequqppied his weapon and charged forward, slashing the rebounding Zippo twice before the Pokemon was able to retaliate. "Can't beat me by yourself, huh?" Zippo hissed through its teeth, it's now nearly empty HP bar flashing brightly above its head.

"In a team PvP fight, I don't have too when I have a team to back me up!" Marth retorted, preparing to strike again. Ness just rolled his eyes.

Not too far away from the two, Link was busy swiping his blade wildly at Nabooru, who with the grace of the Bard's buff, was easliy managing to dodge even the speedy Hylian's strikes. "Miss me." She mocked, dodging his latest swipe by moving to the left. And by repeating the process to the right she dodged his next attack. "And again. You're not that tough if I can anticipate your moves."

Link didn't bother responding to the players taunts. Instead he lunged forward once again, sword brandished in full attack mode, only to receive a quick kick to the chest by the gerudo. The resulting blow reduced his HP bar by about half and sent him tumbling backwards across the floor. Once the rolling stopped, Link found himself belly up on the cold cavern floor staring in thought up at the labyrinths large rocky ceiling. Even after Ness's healing spell returned much of his depleted HP bar, Link found himself hesitant to get back up. "We can't beat them like this." He muttered finally pulling himself to his feet. Awaiting him was Nabooru's fist, which was promptly blocked by his shield, although the force still broke through the shield and damaged the Hylian.

Marth too was having trouble keeping up with Zippo vicious sword swings. With each one of the Pokemon's slashes more violent and erratic then the last, Marth's counters were becoming more and more sloppy until finally Zippo landed on major hit across his chest. The slash didn't send Marth tumbling, but his character let out a scream of agony as he took a step back. Seizing the opening Zippo prepared to deviler the final strike, only to barely miss as Marth jumped backwards in the air and towards Ness, ending with an ungraceful landing. Marth collapsed to one knee and held the gash across his chest where Zippo had just struck him, noticing that his HP bar was now slowly decreasing. He glanced over to Ness and the two players locked eyes for a moment, Ness immediacy knowing what the swordsman needed. But unfortunately, maintaing their PSI Shields and healing them were taking a toll on the psychic - he had nearly depleted all his MP.

A loud yell quickly caught the two players attentions and they soon noticed that Link had been knocked back once again, but this time towards where the two of them were standing. "Link, are you okay?" Marth asked, bending down to help up his party member.

"Well, heh, I've seen better days..." He replied, barely managing to standing. His normally green armor was torn and bloodied, and his body was covered in bruises from Nabooru's punches. With Marth's help he was able to stand back up, and Ness managed to cure away some of his wounds with a weak Life Up Alpha. "Do you have any MP restoring items left Ness?" Asked the Hylian as he tried to regain his full balance.

Ness nodded. "Yes, a few. But the timer hasn't cooled down since I used the last one."

Link grimaced at Ness's reply. "Then I think we've lost this one guys... unless we hit them by surprise."

"We can't lose here!" Marth cried, taking his sword in both hands once again. "We've got to be able to do something! They're super weak to offensive attacks. We can still hit em!"

"Yes, I know that, but unless we can take out that Bard then we're not going to be able to finish them off." No sooner had Link spoke did a group rings shoot across the floor and hit Zippo and Nabooru, healing the two in a similar fashion to before. Link turned to see just where the rings had come from, but saw that behind them was nothing but a wall and the dead end passage that they had first wandered into. "And I have no idea where that player is."

Marth turned to look as well, sighing upon seeing the same sight. "So what, is he behind the wall or something? Can you cast spells through walls?" Link shook his head. "Then is he somehow hiding in plain sight?"

"I'm not certain, I don't think there is a spell that could hide you like that. Invisibility cloakers don't last this long PvP areas. So I'm really-"

"Here they come!" All attention quickly turned to the oncoming attacks, Zippo and Nabooru, both their sword and fists glowing a bright yellow. They intended to finish it with this attack. Growing, Ness reached into his pocket and pulled out a Star Rod, quickly having it explode and reloading his MP bar. Just as the two attackers were within striking range Ness stepped in between them and the two weakened swordsmen and outstretched his right hand. "PSI Shield Sigma!" From his palm a translucent yellow aura surrounded himself and his two party members, protecting the three from the latest attack. Ness barely managed to keep the shield up long enough to outlast their attacks and once their glowing finally stopped the yellow aura shattered and Ness collapsed to the floor. In a panic, Nabooru and Zippo jumped back a few feet and guarded, waiting for the trio to make their next move.

Both the swordsmen stared at the weakened psychic with a bit surprise. "Thanks for that Ness, I never knew you could use Sigma level shields." Said Link as he stepped over to help the boy off the floor. Marth quietly nodded in agreement.

But Ness didn't seem to thrilled about the compliment. Instead, he cursed under his breath and muttered a weak apology. "I'm sorry Link. It's a spell I can't normally use since my real level is too low... I didn't realize how much MP it cost." It was then they noticed that, even though Ness had used an MP restoring item, his magic bar had fallen way below critical range.

"Oh dear. That's not good." He studied the boy for a moment, going over his stats, then checked his own and Marth. "I... I don't think we can win this."

Not so far away Zippo and Nabooru were starting to lower their guard. "Hey, I don't think they're attacking." Said Nabooru, switching her defensive stance for a more offensive one. "And by the looks of it, their healer is almost out of it."

Zippo grinned and too came out of its defensive position. "Yeah, you're right. Poor kid must be completely out of MP by now. Dumb humans, don't they know only Pokemon have a big enough mana pool to be curing like he was?" It twirled its sword around flamboyantly, finally pointing it directly towards where the weak Ness was laying. "No doubt we'd dragged this on long enough, eh? Let's put them out of their misery now." The pokemon began to cackle. "Stupid newbs thinking they could come in here and ruin the event! Haha!"

"They were pretty bad, weren't they?" Nabooru mockingly asked through giggles of her own. "I mean, how many chances did we have to kill them so far?"

"Yeah, I mean, c'mon. These three are really the ones everyone is all worried about? A washed up PvPer who can't even lead a balanced team, a useless psychic who spams cures like water, and an even more so useless newbie who can't tank for anything!"

Just then something inside me switched on. I'm not sure what... but just listening to the two of them be so... so condescending to us... to my friends. It just...! Before I knew it, I had moved Marth in front of the wounded Ness and raised his sword to an attack position.

"I don't know how and I don't really care right about now," I said, not fully knowing where I was going with it, "But if I have too, I'll personally defeat both of you. I don't care how powerful you are, or how good your characters stats are, I'm not going to let you... I'm not going to let you belittle or hurt my friends!"

Yeah, that sounded so cheesy.

Behind him, Link and Ness were staring up in surprise at the determination and focus that had found its way into Marth's body. But then, suddenly, they felt something else. Something they had felt before, and something that made the two jump to attention. "Uh, hey, hey! Now's not the time to be goin' on some righteousness trip, newbie!" Said Ness, his tone unusually shaky.

"Yes, Marth. You see, in PvP there are some people who just find joy out of belittling their opponents. It's pretty common, really, so don't worry about it too much." Link stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Even if we lose here it's not the end of the world. So calm down, okay?"

But neither of their warning seemed to get through to Marth. Instead he growled again and turned to look at Link with a fierceness in his eyes that made even the Hylian take a step back in surprise. "But how could I? I don't like this, when people mock my friends. I'm not going to let them win. I won't let them win!"

For once, Link wasn't sure how to respond. This attitude in Marth was... new. Atleast at this intensity. But giving it only a few moments thought, the Hylian closed his eyes and smiled, surprising the intense Marth. "Alright then, but remember we're a team here." He marched up along side Marth and lifted his shield and sword. "And the point of a party is that we stand together, we fight together and win together." He smiled again and the two turned to look at their other member. "Right Ness?"

Ness stared back at the two swordsmen for a moment before finally glancing away and stumbling back up. "Whatever makes you happy..." He muttered, taking a few steps away.

As Ness made his way to the back to heal Zippo couldn't help but give out a laugh. "Oh come on, what is this? Some sorta inspirational chat going on? This is just a game, you losers, no need to take it so seriously!"

Marth gritted his teeth and fought for a moment to hold back his anger. But just as he was about to go off on the Pokemon, Link spoke up. "Yes, but the friendships between the players transcends it, making it more then a game, doesn't it?" He mused with another one of his grins. Marth's angry quickly disappeared upon hearing that.

Nabooru and Zippo both exchanged glances but then turned their attention back to their targets. "Well, whatever. You're still about to lose. Ready Nabooru?"

"You know it."

No sooner did they announce it did both Zippo and Nabooru begin barreling down the corridor towards the weakened swordsmen, both of them preparing to strike the two with their strongest attacks. "So, uhh... any ideas?" Marth asked, his sudden intensity gone as the two fierce players barreled down towards them.

Link couldn't help but laugh. "I thought you'd know, it was your idea to keep on fighting right?"

"Well, yeah but uhhh..."

"Haha, well... I hate to say it Marth, but unless a miracle happens..." Link closed his eyes and prepared for the incoming blow. "We've lost this fight." Marth's eyes fell. It was obviously what he hadn't hoped to hear. "But hey, if we do lose, atleast its as a team, hm?"

"Yeah... but hey," Marth lifted his blade and looked over at Link with a grin. "Let's make sure we don't go down without a fight!"

"My thoughts exactly."

The two swordsmen charged forward meeting the oncoming players half way and collided in combat once again. Ness, who sat off healing just sighed at the sight. "Parties... such a pain."

-Nearby-

A small monkey-like beast chuckled as he stared forward into one of the solid labyrinths walls. In either hand it clutched two maracas and on top of is head a large sombrero. "This is great." Spoke the player, Amigo, grinning a toothy smile. "They have no idea I'm behind here... and there is no way they could reach me!" Lifting his maracas, Amigo shook his hands fiercely letting out a loud cry of 'Samba!' as he did. As he shook light blue rings shot out from the weapons and floated across the floor and through the wall; a feat which left the beast giggling even more. Unlike normally spells which can not penetrate solid barriers, a Bard's song is based on the games hearing range. So long as players in their party could hear the songs being cast, Amigo could sing from just about anywhere. In this case, the beast chose behind the wall blocking off Link, Ness and Marth into the dead end, completely making himself untouchable by the trio. "We've got this won."

While he couldn't see the fight itself, he was well aware of the current situation. Judging the grunts and moans over on the other side, he could wager that his team was on the offensive. "Soon they'll be out of recovery items, and then its over!"

But suddenly, something else caught the beasts attention. The sound of footsteps. But these were not by the battle on the other side of the wall... they were over by him. And they were getting closer. Turning, Amigo raised his maracas in the direction of steps and shook his maracas. "Samba!" He cried, shooting out light blue rings across the dark floor. Due to the dimly lit nature of the path, Amigo's rings disappeared into the darkness and from the players view. He waited a moment, expecting to hear the grunt of a player being trapped inside the psychedelic song spell. But after no sound came the beast slowly began to edge closer to where the footsteps had come from. "Is someone there?"

No one answered his question. Shrugging it off, Amigo turned back to the wall just in time to cast another song on his comrades. But no sooner did he turn then did he here another players voice. "Did you do this?" Amigo turned back in the direction of the player with his maracas lifted and ready for a fight. However, he was not prepared to see just _who_ it was who he had cast his spell on. Standing in front of him was a tall player cloaked head to toe in a black robe, the only distinguishable feature upon it the large number six. At first Amigo didn't take much notice of just what the character was wearing. What interested the bard more so was the fact that the player had found and addressed him as the attacker, and yet stood there with the light blue rings pulsating around his body. "Answer... Bah, well of course it was you, you're the only Bard around here!"

"How... How'd you do that?!" Amigo asked. If the player had a high enough charisma status, it wouldn't be unlikely for a bard's spell to fail. But if that was the case, the light blue rings wouldn't appear around a players body, but instead vanish. This player was under the influence of Amigo's samba... but clearly unaffected. The player continued to march forward, ignoring the bards question. Amigo was unsure of how to react, but once he was within striking distant the beast cast another bard song. "Salsa!" Amigo cried as the orange rings floated over to the cloaked player. But once again, the rings floated around his avatar with no visible effects to the character itself. "You... you're a hacker!"

Serpent growled as he continued forward, finally getting nearly on top of Amigo himself. "You're in my way." He smashed his hand onto Amigo's collar, making a sickening cracking sound as it connected with the beast. Amigo shouted in pain and collapsed to the ground, his character paralyzed by the blow. Once the attack was complete, Serpent continued on his way, stepping over Amigo and not once giving the character a second glance.

"Argh... damn it, a one hit paralyze? That guy was a..." Amigo's player stopped mid-sentence as his eyes came across something on the wound inflicted upon him. It was glowing a strange green light, and it looked like a bunch of odd shapes shooting out from the damaged area. On closer examination, the objects could clearly be seen as ones and zeros. "Ah! AH! NO! NO! HE DIDN'T! NO! NO!" Like a rabid beast devouring its prey, the green light quickly spread across the players body, consuming him entirely in a green flash. Soon, Amigo couldn't be seen at all, the only signs of the player were his pathetic cries for help as the green began to fade away. And as the green light faded, so too did the cries, and all traces of Amigo.

As Serpent marched on he over heard the sounds of players battling. Giving only a glance, Serpent wasted no time to register the scrimmage and continued on towards his goal of finding and capturing Zelda.

-Other Side of the Wall-

The broken bodies of Link and Marth once again found their way to the cold cave floor, smashing in with such force that it the force feed back rocked the players computers screen. "Heh, you guys never stood a chance." Zippo cackled, stepping on the chest of the weaken Marth. "How much HP do you have left? One? Two?"

Marth weakly opened an eye and gave as menacing a glare as he could with all his bruises. "Just enough to keep kicking you're stupid computerized butts, thats how much."

Zippo rolled its eyes and stomped down a bit harder on the fallen swordsmans chest. "You know normally when a team is on the brink of death in PvP they either try to forfeit the match or start screaming about how the winning team somehow hacked their victory. Not give stupid little threats."

"Yeah well, if you haven't noticed," Marth said, gripping his blade at his side "-we're not like most people."

With his last bit of energy Marth swung his blade at Zippo, narrowly missing the Pokemon as it dodged backwards. Only the very tip of his blade touched the player, who stumbled back a bit and held the paw that was nicked by the blade. "Ugh, how stupid, they just won't-"

"PK Fire Beta!" A column of fire erupted in between the two opposing players and the weakened Marth and Link. The sudden fiery explosion took both Zippo and Nabooru for surprise, forcing them to step backwards and away from the team. Ness took this opportunity to run up from the back lines and heal up his two party members. "Life Up Beta... Life Up Alpha... Life Up Alpha..." Ness called weakly as the colorful auras surrounded his teammates. "Life Up... Alpha." With his final call he fell to his knees just as Marth and Link managed to stand back up. "I'm out of MP. And my character is exhausted from too much item use."

Link took out a mushroom from his back pocket and used it, and then tossed another one over to Marth which exploded half way. Both of their HP bars were now at about three quarters full health. "That's alright Ness, you did your best." The Hylian spoke with a smile. "I don't think we'll be around here for much longer anyway..."

Slowly, the column of flames died away and once it was gone the trio could see the visible ticked off Zippo and Nabooru. "That healer is so annoying!" Zippo shouted as it balled its fists. "We should have just killed him first! He keeps getting in our way!"

"I'll take care of him." Nabooru replied with a grin. "And this time, no Hylian should be able to get in my way!" As before, Nabooru jumped into the air and vanished in a white blur. Marth, Link and Ness, all of whom were too weaken by the continuous battle to prepare any real defense, could only watch carefully around them, awaiting the Gerudo's assault. Only a moment after her disappearance did the trio here the sound of feet touching the ground behind them. Marth and Link spun around just in time to see Nabooru reaching out her hand towards the exhausted Ness, who was unable to move with the status effect afflicting him. "Come here you stupid healer!"

Link attempted to charge towards their attacker, but stumbled down to the ground as his avatar reached for his leg. "Ah, I've used up too much stamina, I can't make sharp movements! Ness!" Marth too attempted to make a lunge towards Ness to protect him, but similar to Link his avatar collapsed out of stamina from his last attack.

There wasn't much anyone could do. Both Marth and Link needed to recharge their stamina, which occurred naturally over time, and Ness had no MP left to defense or shield himself with. So he was helpless when Nabooru picked him up by his collar and lifted him to her face. "You're dead, kid." She whispered, pulling back her free hand. It began to glow as she began to launch her next attack. With nothing to help him, Ness just glanced away at the ground, muttering curses to himself for being so wasteful with his MP. But even if he had any to use, a direct attack at such a close range would be instantly fatal to a mage.

But then, something unexpected happened. Nabooru's attack never hit... in fact, she never moved her fist. When a few moments past and his screen did not fade as if he was killed, Ness looked back up to see that the once confident look on Nabooru's face was filled with shock and horror. The white aura around her had faded. The bards buff had ended. Filled with a sudden rejuvenation, Ness gripped Nabooru's huge hand and pried it off his collar, limply falling to the ground. But even as Ness left her hand she remained in her position, with one hand outstretched and the other pulled back into an attack. She wasn't frozen, however, but instead her avatars speed was reduced to a mere fraction of what it normally is. Slowly, her outstretched hand began to recoil and her other hand fell back to her side, all the while her panic stricken face looking worse and worse.

"Link... what happened to her?" Marth asked as he and his Hylian friend stood back up. He turned around to look Zippo, who still had its white aura around it, but looking equally as shocked.

Link watched as Nabooru began to take a few steps back, all while moving (in what seemed to the otherwise fast paced action of the game) in slow motion. He grinned and turned to look at Zippo. "Well, you see this is the reason why Bards aren't used too much in PvP. Sure their buffs are insanely powerful, but the downside is once the buffs come off, all of the stats that were effected by the buff are greatly reduced."

"So what you're saying is..."

"Right now, Nabooru is about as slow as a snail and as threatening as a level three player."

Zippo growled angrily as Link revealed the flaw in their strategy. "Damn it... DAMN IT!" The Pokemon lifted its blade and was about to charge at the duo when its own aura faded away, stopping the charging warrior in its tracks. "ARGH! Amigo! AMIGO!" It shouted, looking around the corridor. "Why the hell haven't you recasted our buffs yet!" When no reply or spells came, Zippo was forced to check its party window and was horrified to not only see that Amigo's HP bar had hit 0, but that his name had become strangely deformed, filled in between each letter of his name with strange characters. "W-What?! Amigo was..."

"...Corrupted?!" Nabooru shouted over their party chat. "How did that happen!" But before they could ponder what happened to their teammate, they had another, more immediate problem to face. Link, Marth and Ness were now all standing back up and facing the slow moving Nabooru, preparing their weapons and grinning. "Ugh! Oh no, they're gonna attack!"

Nabooru attempted to shield herself, but even in her defensive position there was no way to prevent the assault. Ness reached into his back pocket and pulled out his large bat like staff and charged forward, jumping high into the air with his weapon brandish over his head. "This is for trying to kill me three times!" With a surprising amount of force from a psychic, coupled with the fact that her stats were extremely weakened, the blow sent the Gerudo soaring upwards into the air in a spin. "Heh, go ahead guys, finish her!"

While helpless Link took out his bow and arrow, pulled back and launched a glowing golden bolt towards Gerudo. It hit its target dead on, stopping her violent spinning and piercing her chest. With one finally scream, Nabooru cried out helplessly as she smashed into the rocky ground, the impact reducing her HP bar to zero. She was defeated. "You got her!" Marth cheered, pumping his fist in victory. "All right! Awesome job!"

Link grinned and gave Marth a thumbs up. Once Nabooru's body had grayed out and vanished the three turned their attention to the last member of the opposing team. "One down, one to go." Said the Hylian, preparing his shield and sword.

Zippo's scowl grew larger and more toothy with every minute that the reality of the situation set in. "Nabooru is defeated... Amigo is corrupted... I'm weakened..." The pokemon muttered to itself. "No... No we came too far to lose. I can't... I won't..."

"Ready Marth!"

"Ready!"

"Let's get him!"

Link and Marth charged forward towards Zippo, their weapons raised and ready for battle. "Damn it... wait..." Suddenly, something in Zippo's head clicked and when it did the scowl was replaced by a angry smile. "My attack, defense and speed may be severally weakened... but my magic isn't!" The Pokemon lifted its blade and began to swing it about in an elegant pattern, the typical casting animation for a Dark Knight.

When Link saw the Pokemon's casting he skidded to a stop. "Marth, hold up!" He shouted, causing the blue haired swordsman to do the same. "Zippo is casting something... watch out!"

"I can't win, that much is obvious." Zippo muttered, bringing its sword to rest vertical along its body. "But I can atleast take one of you down with me! Thunder Bolt! Yaa!" Zippo raised its sword to the sky and a yellow bolt shot up from its tip. With a thunderous boom, the air above the group began to darken as clouds covered the top of the labyrinth. But they didn't stay for long, quickly the clouds began to converge, floating over to one specific point where Zippo was now pointing its blade.

Ness stared up in horror as the black clouds of Zippo's spell gathered just slightly above his head. Even though the spell itself took a while before it would cast, he was still weakened from before, so there was no way Ness could dodge. And with his low HP, this spell would seal the psychics fate. "NESS!" Link shouted. "NESS!" Link knew that even if they did defeat Zippo, Ness's defeat in combat would spell the end for their team.

The bolt of thunder shot down from the sky, smashing into its target with such force that the light blinded all of the players around, followed by a large amount of dust and derbies. The bolt was so incredibly powerful that even the air around Link had begun to experience small electric charges, dealing small amounts of damage to him. Truly this was Zippo's most powerful spell and to which the Pokemon had poured off of its last amount of energy into. Cackling, Zippo called out to the Hylian in a condescending tone. "Oh, no! I've lost haven't I! Yeah, well good luck getting any furtherer without your damn healer, huh?!"

Link stared on in horror as dust and glare from the bolt began to fade. Even with its back against the wall, Zippo had managed to deal a fatal blow to the team. No healer would spell the defeat of even the strongest of teams. A sense of despair overtook the Hylian and his gaze fell to the ground. "I can't believe- Uh..." But then, something caught Link's attention. He glanced about him and was struck with confusion. Marth, who had before was standing next to him, had gone missing. Puzzled, he turned his gaze back over to where the thunder bolt and crashed... and gasped at the sight seen.

Ness was not sprawled out across the ground, his body slowly turning gray. Instead, Ness was sitting on the ground a few feet away from the impact zone of the thunder bolt, his eyes wide with shock. In his place was Marth, who had pushed the boy out of the way of the blast in the moments leading up to its blow, taking the full force of the magic spell himself. As the debris faded Marth collapsed to the ground, his body charred and bruised from the blast. But surprisingly enough, Marth had recovered enough HP prior to withstand the attack, leaving him with only fifteen HP points remaining. Once overcoming his shock of narrowly avoiding death, Ness stood up and ran over to Marth. "Hey, are you okay? Do you have any status afflictions?"

Marth didn't answer at first. Finally after a minute of silence he lifted his head and sighed. "That was close, huh."

"Uh, well um..." Ness stammered with his reply, trying to think of the best way to answer but then folded his arms and glanced away from his wounded partner. "I-I could have handled it."

"Impossible..." Zippo muttered, its voice showing that the player completely floored by the events that just transpired. "How... Who'd be stupid enough to jump infront of a Thunder Bolt?!"

"When friends on in trouble, you sometimes forget what things are crazy and stupid in order to protect them." The sudden voice of Link behind Zippo caused the Pokemon to jump and turn around to be face to face with the Hylian. He had slipped behind Zippo once noticing that his friends were safe, using Zippo's utter shock as a distracting to get within striking range. "As I said before, this may be just a game. But the friendships forged within it tend to transcend the game itself." Link said with a grin. "I guess Marth just wanted to protect his friend, hmm?"

Zippo growled once more and reached for its blade. "Why you stupid-"

But it finished its sentence. With one graceful flick of Link's blade, he struck Zippo down the center of its body, dealing enough damage to reduce its HP to zero. One last time the two opponets eyes met and Link sent Zippo off with a wink and a smile. "Good game!"

"Hac-" Zippo fell to the ground with a thud, turning gray and vanishing a moment later. As Zippo vanished, a small mask of an ugly face appeared where its body had fallen, floating up into the air and then over to Link's hand. He took it and smiled, tucking it safely away in his back pocket. Once the item was safety inside his inventory, the swordsman let out a long and loud sigh of relief. Barely, just barely, they had managed to avoid defeat and he was grateful. He withdrew his weapons from his battle position and walked over to his teammates with a relaxed smile on his face. Marth was busy trying to stand back up, (although it looked more as like he was twitching) while Ness sat cross-legged, deep within the healing process.

"Heal me already! You've been resting long enough to atleast cast recover!" Marth shouted, or atleast tried too. Given the damage dealt from the last attack, the game muffled his speech to all but a whimper.

"I want to get to full MP first." Ness retorted. "So quiet down, or I might just forget to heal you at all! Newbie."

"I risk life and limb to save your ass and this is how you repay me! Gah, when I get up, I swear-"

"You better rethink your statement, since without me, you wouldn't be _getting _up."

Link let out a loud laugh as he sat down next to the wounded Marth. "Oh come on Ness, just recover him already. It'd be best anyway since that way you can be at full MP once you're done resting." Ness opened his eyes and glared at Link, but without any kind of retort or complain the psychic stood up and casted the recover spell on the fallen swordsman, relieving him of his paralysis status effect. "Feeling better Marth?" Link asked as his companion sat up.

"Meh. We took a pretty bad beating, I've got like no HP left." Marth replied as his avatar held his head. "And apparently my head is killing me. Overall, I think I've had better days."

"Heh, well, why don't you rest your avatar for a bit. I don't think we'd be going anywhere for a while." Marth nodded and like Ness, crossed his legs and closed his eyes, his avatar slowly regaining health, stamina and other statuses that were spent during their tough battle. "That was a pretty close fight though, huh?"

Link nodded and began to rest as well. "Yeah, you're telling me. But we managed to come through, huh?"

"Yeah, we kicked their asses! Haha!"

Ness snorted. "Uh, you mean me and Link did. If I remember correctly, once the buffs were off, all you did was suck and get zapped by a thunder bolt! Hardly worth mentioning on the MVP boards, eh?"

"Oh you! You, you... argh, shut it Ness."

Ness and Link both began laughing and soon Marth joined in. Although Ness laughed for teasing Marth and Marth laughed at the situation in general, Link was laughing because not just one miracle had happened, but seemingly two. For first time, it seemed as if the three were finally getting along like a real team. And they had won their first real challenge. But greater challenges awaited them, deeper on in the maze... one of which was already watching, peering around the corner of the labyrinths winding walls.

Maiden, who had been peering from behind the corner of the corridor pulled her cloaked head back behind the corner and rested it against the wall. "Friends... team, huh?" She whispered to herself. She stood there in silence, staring down at her hand until a sudden message popping up on her screen caused her to jump out of her trance.

**BOWSER: Maiden! How is the mission going? What is Serpent up too?**

With a quiet sigh, Maiden entered the whisper menu and began to converse with her 'leader'.

**'MAIDEN': I don't know, Lord Bowser, I'm looking for him!  
****'MAIDEN': It is a **_**labyrinth**_** after all.  
BOWSER: You can walk through walls!  
'MAIDEN': Yeah and why don't we just shout out to all the players that a hacker is here?  
'MAIDEN': Think that'll help our cause, mm?  
BOWSER: Are you mocking me?  
'MAIDEN': ...  
BOWSER: Don't you even START with the dots.  
BOWSER: I swear those things are so annoying, if you don't want to say anything then don't say it!  
BOWSER: There is no need to fill the empty space with an eclipse!  
'MAIDEN': Ellipse, you mean?  
BOWSER: What?  
'MAIDEN': Ugh. Nevermind.  
'MAIDEN': I'm looking for him, I'll whisper you when I find him.  
BOWSER: You had better.  
'MAIDEN': ...  
BOWSER: Grr  
'MAIDEN': Oh, as if 'Grr' is any less of a filler? Anyway, I have to get back to work. Over and out.  
BOWSER: I am the one who dismisses you! You may leave when I am ready.  
'MAIDEN': ...  
BOWSER: ...  
BOWSER: Over and out.**

Once the whispered had ended Maiden let out a much more audible sigh. When she realized just how loud it was she jumped, turning to peer down the corridor to see if the resting team had heard it. Fortunately for her, they had not. "Ugh, that man is so infuriating." She muttered, holding her forehead. "I'm lucky he's such a doofus." Turning, she continued down the dead end hallway right up until the wall itself, held out her hand and began to phase through he turquoise rock with a purple haze.

-Bowser's Castle-

An obviously frustrated Bowser sighed and brought a sharp claw to his forehead. "Ugh, that woman is so infuriating." He muttered, holding his forehead. "I'm lucky she's such a loyal follower." After a few minutes of silent brooding, he began to flip through a few of his files to check and see how things were going in the game outside of the Attack on the Castle event. One notice that crossed the floating screen was one that quickly got his attention. "Oh, thats right. Blade should be returning with Dr. Mario soon."

-Jungle Japes-

The rich, green foliage of the Jungle Japes area spanned out as far as the eye could see. Tall banana trees sprung out from the dense undergrowth, filled with brightly colored flowers, fruits and different types of birds fluttering about. The jungle like background music of the area was almost completely drowned out by the sound of raging water of a huge, violent river that ran through the center of the area, splitting it in two. And in the middle of all this commotion stood a character seemingly out of place - a human in a long white jacket and stethoscope.

Dr. Mario tapped his fingers anxiously against his elbow as he continued to glance about the dense foliage of the jungle, seemingly waiting in a small clearing for something to happen. "I hate the Kongo server." He muttered to himself as he survived the visible landscape for what seemed like the countless time. "Who in their right mind would want to meet out here? This client had better have some good intel, or one heck of a good item..." After another three minutes past with no sign of another player, Dr. Mario turned to leave. "Ten minutes, I've waited long enough. He didn't show." But just as he turned to leave the sounds of rustling and footsteps could be heard in the players headset. He glanced in the direction of the sound, reaching back to grip his weapon just in case. However, while he expected to see a player who had contacted him over the forums to emerge from the foliage, the player who did come into view was not what the assassin was expecting.

Bowser's Warlock Blade, dressed in full cloak garb, stumbled out from the mess of bushes, vines and other random assortment of plants, falling flat on his face with a loud thud. After picking himself up he turned back to see that a vine had wrapped itself around his unsheathed sword, holding him back from progressing any farther. "Damn stupid Nintendo making these-" He yanked on the blade. "Vines so damn" He pulled hard. "Annoying!" With a final yank he freed his blade from the accursed vine and fell backwards into the clearing. "Stupid-"

"Heh." Blade looked up to see an upside down Dr. Mario chuckling at the spectacle that had just taken place. "Oh, sorry, that was just very... funny." Blade rolled his eyes, although it was invisible beneath his cloak and stood up. "Hello Blade, to what do I owe this honor?"

Growling, Blade marched forward towards Dr. Mario menacingly, smacking the assassin once he got within range, surprising the otherwise unsurpriseable Dr. Mario. "You stupid low-life hacker! Remember your place and address me like you're suppose to!"

Gripping the spot where Blade had just struck him, Dr. Mario's eyes filled with rage and hatred as he glared upwards at the cloaked Warlock. But what mostly infuriated Dr. Mario was that Blade was right. Bowser had set up strict rules of how a normal hacker enlisted in his services (a 'Nomi' as called by the Warlocks) must greet and act around those deemed 'higher' in Bowser's chain of command. And although they acted closer while at under the guise of a Warlock... without his cloak, Dr. Mario was just a second ranked 'Nomi' hacker. Blade had no idea who he really was, and thats precisely the way Bowser wanted it. Still, the thought of performing the official 'greeting' was too much for the assassin to bear and he was torn between turning and leaving without a second glance, or preferable, striking back and PKing Blade right where he stands. But one thought held his blade as he stood in the shadow of the warlock - If Blade had been the sent for him, then Bowser must want something important.

"I'm sorry, Lord Warlock." Dr. Mario replied, his voiced filled to the brim with sarcastic venom. He outstretched his arms and bowed slightly, keeping the same mocking tone. "Is this better, _Lord_ Warlock? I can't bare but not look upon you, as you're face is too great for my comprehension, _Lord_ Warlock."

With another hiss, Blade took his sword and swipe it across Dr. Mario three times, knocking the PKer onto the ground and lowering his HP bar by about half. Once again, Dr. Mario fought every last urge to charge forward and plant a knife deep into the cloaked hood infront of him. Blade, seemingly proud to invoke Dr. Mario's rage just huffed and crossed his arms. "I'd kill you for that if I didn't know that pathetic excuse for a greeting would be the best I'd get anyway."

Dr. Mario slowly made his way back onto two feet, moving his hands away from his weapons at his side. Once back standing up he held out his right hand and whispered quietly, "Life Up Gamma." Healing the wounds just inflicted on him. All patched up, he turned to Blade and asked coldly, "Why are you here? What happened?"

"Lord Bowser sent me to get you." The Warlock explained, soundly relatively bored at the whole ordeal. "I'm not sure why he wants too meet you or what reason he needed to send me. He just wants to see you right now."

The healer narrowed his eyes, quickly going over a list of possible events that could have merited for a Warlock to have been sent for him. Did Bowser know he had met with Sheik? Does he think he would betray him? No, then Blade wouldn't have even shown his face, he would have just taken him out. "I can't leave just yet, I have an appointment with another player." He replied after a moments thought. "I'll head there once they arrive."

Blade chuckled and began to glance at his gloved hand. "Yeah, about that... your appointment won't be showing up anytime soon. So you're schedule just opened up!" He gave a light cackle. "How lucky, hmm?"

"Oh, is that so? Well then after I stop by town and deposit my most recent loot, then-"

"Uh, I don't think you heard me, doctor." Blade interrupted, pointing a slender finger at Dr. Mario. "He wants to see you now. As in, you're going with me now."

With a cautious stare at the Warlock infront of him, he reluctantly nodded and folded his arms. He was in no real position to object. "Very well, let's just get this over with. Unlike you, _Lord_ Warlock, I have things to do."

Another flare of rage erupted through the Warlock, reaching for his blade once again. "Why you stupid little..." He charged forward at Dr. Mario his blade ready to cut the assassin in two, but stopped about midway when he saw the doctor had not moved or even flinched with the oncoming attack. Remembering that there would be little point to killing his target, Blade simply withdrew his blade and struck Dr. Mario once again. "You're so insobedient. I don't know why Lord Bowser even puts up with it!" Without waiting for any response, Blade pointed upwards to the sky and a purple ring shot up around the two players. It floated upwards, consuming the two, creating what looked like a giant purple warp pipe. The only major difference was that on the side of this warp pipe was the infamous logo of King Bowser. Once the two players had vanished down the pipe, it withdrew into the ground and vanished without any trace.

-Bowser's Castle-

After the loading screen had faded, the two players saw that they had warped their way into their own leaders personal vision of hell. Dr. Mario, not one to be all that thrilled about his return to the field, stormed away quickly from Blade, passing through the giant welcome archway and up over to the door of the castle. Blade, who appeared to have lagged slightly upon entering, quickly picked up his pace and caught up with the assassin before he could get very far. "Don't you leave without me." Blade commanded as he followed Dr. Mario through the castle gates.

They entered the main chamber of the castle and began to walk down the main hallway. Dr. Mario didn't seem very thrilled with the fact that Blade was continuously following. "Do you need to follow my every step? I mean it's obvious I can't leave this area without Bowser knowing. And ontop of that, now that I'm here I wouldn't be leaving without seeing him anyway."

"Watch your tone!"

Sneering to himself, Dr. Mario once again had to fight off the urge to turn about and PK his 'friend'. But instead, he decided to play the game Blade was and instigate the Warlock a bit more. "Oh, I'm sorry, _Lord_ Warlock. That better?"

"I'm warning you!"

"Pfft, Oh, please." Blade raised his weapon and prepared to strike, but Dr. Mario took no notice of the threat and continued on walking. "Tell me something, _Lord _Warlock. Do you treat all Nomis with this much respect? Or am I just lucky?"

"You should know why I detest you."

Dr. Mario shrugged. "Sorry, didn't know most people could read your mind _Lord _Warlock. Albeit, you are painfully obvious to read, but not that so." Blade charged forward at Dr. Mario, his blade glowing a fiery red. He swung at him ferociously, but the healer, who had seen the attack coming, gracefully dodged the assault causing Blade to fall forward onto the floor. Grinning, Dr. Mario continued forward, stepping right over the fallen Warlock. "Nice shot."

Blade growled and shot up quickly, running ahead of the slow walking Dr. Mario and gripping him by his collar. "Now you look here, Dr. Mario." He hissed, pulling the assassin close to the emptiness of his hood. "I am your superior and I expect to be respected as one. If you act up but one more time, I will forget everything Bowser told me and PK you right here and delete everything in your file. Or better yet, no, I'll remake you into a level one newb! How does that sound to you, hmm?" But the threats fell on deaf ears as Dr. Mario showed not a single sign of being worried. He instead swatted away Blade cloaked hand and continued his leisurely stroll down the hall. While he didn't know the full extent of Blade's hacking talents, he was pretty sure that he could atleast reverse any damage done to his character. Still, not wanting to risk any trouble, he remained quiet until Blade shouted out, "Did you hear me, Dr. Mario?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I heard you, Lord Warlock." He spoke, for the first time with an air of seriousness. As fun as it was to push Blade's buttons, this little game was getting old.

"I expect an apology." Dr. Mario turned and gave the cloaked Warlock a glare that might have sent shivers down the bravest warriors spine. "...Fine."

The two walked a good portion of the rest of the way through the winding castle corridors in silence, neither one seeming to want to upset the other. But at about two halls away from the final chamber, Bowser's center of command, Dr. Mario's curiosity got the best of him. "So, you said you detest me? May I ask why..." He asked, biting his tongue at the upcoming honorific. "Lord Warlock."

Blade huffed and crossed his arms. "It's pretty obvious why most of the Warlocks dislike you." This suddenly caught the assassins attention. "You stole one of our own's name!"

"One of your own?" Dr. Mario asked, thinking back to what he could be referring too. "...Euthanasia, you mean?"

"You've been know to proudly call yourself the Euthanasia Warrior!" Blade shouted. "And, if you didn't know, thats the names of one of our Warlocks. You stole it from him!"

Dr. Mario rolled his eyes and sighed, although Blade didn't seem to notice either. True, he did steal the name you could say, but not without good reason. Prior to joining Bowser's Warlocks, some players on the server had already begun to call him various different names, one of which was Euthanasia. When Dr. Mario joined the Warlocks and Bowser gave him his new name, it was only then that did Dr. Mario himself, not the Warlock, begin proclaiming himself as the Euthanasia Warrior. Since most people thought that the Warlocks were an extremely secretive organization, and that the real Euthanasia wouldn't be so quick to announce himself to the public, Dr. Mario figured that this was the best way to hide his identity. But regardless of the reasons behind calling himself what he does, the assassin found it hard to believe that Blade's behavior towards him was because of a name. He probably is just ticked off about a time he PKed him without knowing.

"Seems a bit harsh to despise for something so small, don't you think?" Ask Dr. Mario as the two approached the door to Bowser's chamber.

"When you screw with one Warlock, you screw with all of us." He explained, much to Dr. Mario's amusement. "But what I don't understand is why Euthanasia hasn't gone up and deleted your sorry excuse of a character yet."

Dr. Mario chuckled. "No, that's not the real question here."

"Oh? And what is that suppose to mean?"

The healer didn't answer Blades question. Instead he walked forward, pushing open the door and entering the dark inner chamber that was Bowser's main place of residence. Inside, Bowser was busy doing what most would consider his normal activity, browsing and searching through files, posts and data of Super Smash Brothers Online with one claw, and with the other, busily typing away at a line of numbers which was destined to become part of a larger code or hack. All the while, in the background, he was busy running tests on recent hacks to find out what worked, what didn't and what was just stupid. Regardless of how he felt of the person himself, there was one thing Dr. Mario had to admit about Bowser. This guy was no everyday computer hacker, and anyone of the Warlocks who thought that are in a desperate need of a wake up call.

Blade followed Dr. Mario into the room, shoving past the assassin and walking up to Bowser's throne. He kneeled in front of the seemingly distracted hacker and spoke, "Lord Bowser, I brought that idiotic Dr. Mario." Dr. Mario rolled his eyes once again at the Warlock's attitude towards him.

Although Bowser was looking at Blade, it took a few minutes for the otherwise lost look of their leader to return to life as he returned to the keyboard. "Oh, Blade. Welcome back. Thank you for bringing me Dr. Mario. You've done well." Blade snickered with pride and stood back up. "You can leave us now."

"Uh, wait, may I atleast ask why you summoned him?" Blade asked, pointing to the assassin. "I mean, what could you possible need with a level two nomi hacker, my Lord."

Bowser's somewhat distracted look turned to one of full attention on Blade, with an angry glare in his eye. "I said leave."

Take back by the sudden glare, Blade took a step back and bowed. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry." The Warlock turned and left, stopping only to look at Dr. Mario for a moment as he past by. Once outside and the door close, the Warlock threw himself against the wall and let out an angry sigh. "Argh, I hate that Dr. Mario. Why Euthanasia hasn't dealt with him is beyond me!"

Back inside the chamber, Dr. Mario was laughing to himself as he approached the center of the chamber. "You sure do pick the best for the job, huh?"

"Well maybe if you spent more time on your job as a Warlock, you wouldn't need to be putting up with his attitude." Replied the Koopa, returning most of his attention back to the various activities around him. Dr. Mario shrugged off the accusation. "You were out of line today."

Bowser's latest claim caught the assassin by surprise. Raising an eyebrow, Dr. Mario asked, "What do you mean? Out of line? What did I do? I haven't been Euthanasia in sometime, so I don't think I've given away any information."

Bowser's shared attention once again shifted to a single target, focusing in on Dr. Mario with an angry intensity. With one flick of a claw the hacker brought up a translucent screen with various posts from the day and pushed it over in the direction of Dr. Mario. It floated over to the healer with little resistance, Dr. Mario taking it in both hands and examining it. It didn't take long for him to realize just what the posts where and he quickly cursed himself for not being thorough with his discretion. It was his post from earlier calling out on the message board to Young Link. "Tell me, what did you learn about Ganondorf? Anything?"

"What makes you so sure we talked of Ganondorf?" He asked, crossing his arms. "I could have just wanted some information about an item, or another PvP tournament. There are plenty of things-"

"Don't even start that with me, Dr. Mario." Bowser interrupted. "I'm not stupid, I know the relationship the two players had perviously. Young Link is by far the only member of the serious PvP players who would know anything about Ganondorf." He took a pause from his busy codes and file surfing to fold his hands and bring up a file he had created about their newest Warlock member. "And if my theory of Ganondorf's importance is true, then certainly he would have some insight on the issue. So don't bother and trying to hide it, tell me what it is you two talked about."

"Is that all you wanted?"

"Yes. Now tell me."

Dr. Mario sighed and was about to answer when a thought suddenly past his mind. It was of the conversation he and Sheik had only about an hour or so ago. Seeing Bowser there, comsumed on both sides by hacks and work... it reminded him of the hackers true agenda. Was this a similar situation? Whenever he gains information considered important of valuable, he's expected to give it up? And for what? Did either Sheik or Bowser plan on doing the same?

Whatever other thoughts of dissent were settled by a booming, "Speak now, Dr. Mario. Tell me what you learned" from the hacker in front of him. With an angry scowl, Dr. Mario turned from Bowser and began to march out of the room. He knew the information he gained from his conversation with Young Link could very well shatter or confirm any of Bowser's theories about the Gerudo. But he was bent on keeping that information to himself. He'd be the chess player instead of the pawn, using Bowser and Sheik as he saw fit. Yes, that was his plan all along. How easily he got sidetrack with loyalties and alliances. "Where are you going, Euthanasia!"

Without turning to face Bowser, Dr. Mario coldly replied as he left the chamber, "His favorite color is yellow."

Bowser glared at Dr. Mario as he stood in the doorway for a minute, but then quickly went back to the many other tasks that were preceding him from before. "I see. Nothing useful then. You may go."

Dr. Mario left Bowser's chamber and started the long march back down the hall way out of the castle, a wicked smile slowly creeping onto his face. "I had always intended to use both Sheik and Bowser to my own means." He whispered to himself. "I suppose I had forgotten that neither of these two plan on sharing the spoils with me. Heh heh. So then, why on earth would I want to share with them something this juicy? I'm sure they'll find out though... when it's too late."

-Labyrinth of Koridai-

"Yahoo! That was an easy one!"

The body of a defeated player vanished from the floor of the labyrinth as Little Mac pumped his green clad fist into the air in victory. From the spot where the player had once laid, an ugly mask appeared and floated into the air, passing by the cheering Little Mac and over towards Kirby who reached up and grabbed the item. "And thats it!" Said the puffball with a grin. "That's our third face of evil! We have enough to make it to the next round!"

Upon hearing the confirmation of their teams placement in the finals, Little Mac let out another victorious hoot. "Yeah, awesome! All thanks to you and your nuking, Kirby!"

Kirby blushing slightly as a witch-esque hat on his head slowly vanished as his shifter powers ran out. "Heh well, if we didn't have you to lock them down in your combos then we wouldn't have been able to nuke 'em, eh?" Little Mac too joined in the victorious laughter of the group, but when Kirby noticed there was one voice missing, he immediately turned to face their third member. "Oh, and of course we would never have lasted long enough if you weren't such a good healer Jigglypuff! Man for a new healer, you're really great at it."

Jigglypuff jumped to attention upon hearing herself being complimented. "Oh, um, uh... Thanks!" She remarked quickly. Once she was done speaking, she withdrew her gaze from her partners and once again stood timidly in the back, staring off at the cold ground in front of her.

Noticing that there was something wrong, Kirby walked over to his sister and patted her on her shoulders. "Hey, you okay? You should be happy, not only did we manage to get enough faces to qualify for the finals, your skills at this game are developing ten fold!"

Sighing, the healer turned to face her teammate with a weak smile. "Oh, yes. I am happy, believe me. I'm pretty impressed with how well I'm holding out... It's just..." Kirby looked on with concearn at his sister until she finished, "I was just thinking about Marth and the others. The last group we fought... they mentioned how everyone was gunning for them, right? I... I, uh, just hope they're okay is all..."

"Oh, is that?" When she nodded, Kirby grinned and bounced away from the healer with a light step. "I wouldn't worry about them. While I don't know for sure, I've heard rumors of how tough Zelda trains people in her guild. To the bone! And, on top of that, Link is a pretty experienced PvPer for someone of his level. So relax, I'm sure by now they have atleast three faces of evil themselves." Kirby's happy attitude quickly changed, shivering as if he had just come down with a powerful cold. "If anything, we should be afraid of them beating us in the next round. So I wouldn't worry."

Upon hearing Kirby, the healer turned her gaze back up to her brother and smiled once more. "Yeah, you're probably right Kirby. Let's hurry so we can meet-"

"Uh, excuse me? Can I help you?"

Kirby and Jigglypuff's attention were quickly called away from each other and back over towards Little Mac, who was now standing in a battle ready position against some new foe. It didn't take long for the two puffballs to see just who had walked up to the group and challenged them, but upon seeing the target, Kirby's otherwise cheerful expression quickly darkened. "Oh no..." He muttered, barely audible to the other players.

While Jigglypuff didn't hear Kirby's words, she quickly noticed something was wrong as the shifter placed himself in between her and the apporching figure. Suddenly over come by fear, Jigglypuff lifted her staff in panic and took a few steps back. "W-W-What's wrong Kirby? Who is this?"

It was not a team, no. Instead, Kirby, Jigglypuff and Little Mac were now standing across the way from a single player. A single player in a black cloak with a bright number six on top its hood...

CONTINUE...?


End file.
